A Night to Remember: The Forty-Ninth Hunger Games
by LadyCordeliaStuart
Summary: SYOT. Full before I even posted! You know the deal.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey hey hey who's ready for another SYOT? I hope the people on the list are, since they signed up.**

 **I skipped a year to make room for another Career. I'm insanely egotistical, so I put Ravi from Make Me a Match in my universe! She won't be mentoring or anything. That'll stay Blake. I just wanted her on the list.**

* * *

 **List:**

 **One Male: Probably will be needed for one of those people I double-booked. I am leaving it empty until I make sure everyone who reserved has a slot.**

 **One Female MysticalPineForest**

 **Two Male LokiThisisMadness**

 **Two Female Jessie Cabello**

 **Three Male WintersWriting**

 **Three Female Aceswims**

 **Four Male Jayman**

 **Four Female Reserved for someone, because I think I done messed up and I probably need this slot for someone...**

 **Five Male Thorn5502**

 **Five Female NyantodaMax**

 **Six Male Lovetheantagonist**

 **Six Female MRKenn**

 **Seven Male CarlPoppaLOL**

 **Seven Female Tinks**

 **Eight Male TER**

 **Eight Female SparkaLeah**

 **Nine Male PrinceofCorinth**

 **Nine Female DestroynotCreate**

 **Ten Male ReaderCastellan? WELL CRAP looks like I done got mixed up. Don't worry, this is why I've left the One male slot open this far. I should be able to move things around and I have that extra slot so at least everyone who reserved will get one.**

 **Ten Female h.**

 **Eleven Male Tracelynn**

 **Eleven Female ItsacatsWorld**

 **Twelve Male 66asmvr**

 **Twelve Female I FORGOT WHO IT WAS BUT I HAVE THE FORM it's not 66asmvr tho. She requested two but said if things got full she would take one, which is what happened.**

* * *

 **Do I have a One male? I thought I did. If that was you, could you shoot me a line if you find this before I find you?**

* * *

 **I don't really have a set form, but I can make one if you need one.**

 **Let's get this show on the road!**

 **PS until I get this list solidified I'll be taking the chance to update 75 Victors, One Shot at Victory, the wiki, and another project I've been developing. I think it would be fun to have a series of one-shots about Victors after their Victories. They would interact and stuff, like a chapter about Frankie asking Rhoda about buying Vera a wedding ring in the Capitol and they navigate fancy Capitol stores, or Pray trying to cook dinner for her daughter and failing since she never learned how to cook and has been living off MREs and frozen dinners. People can send in ideas or write their own chapters and I'll put them in.**

* * *

Titian Qin, Head Gamemaker

Let's get this show on the road! This year it will be normal, but it will still be fun. I won't be allowed to actually kill people, but you can't always get what you want. Maybe I'll send some weapons. Oh, better not. Remember what happened to Harley...


	2. Five Reapings

**I think Five is the first full District I have? It's a mess in that file.**

* * *

Totem Sweeney, District Five

I'm not ugly. I'm not stupid. I'm not a weakling. _So why don't girls like me?_

Sex happens. No matter what parents tell their kids, it's gonna happen. Some places earlier than others, and in Five, usually before you're fourteen. We get curious, and one thing just leads to another. For most people, anyway. Most people weren't seventeen-year-old virgins unless they were asexual or took a vow of celibacy for some crazy reason. I mean, _seventeen_ years old. That's practically dead!

That wasn't my entire life, but I sure wished it was _more_ of my life. I had other hobbies to make up for my sadly barren bedroom. I had a charmed life, really, in just about every other way. My father was CEO of a huge power plant, so my whole family was sort of filthy rich. I did well in school and I played bassoon so well I was offered a chair in a Capitol orchestra. I also had this weird thing where I didn't make lactic acid, so I could run really far. Sadly, "I'm a mutant" didn't get the ladies, and neither did romantic bassoon solos. I didn't run professionally either, so it was more a potentiality than a real asset.

Other than that, I'm generally a nice guy. Not like a "nice guy". I don't try to guilt girl or whine when they don't want me. I'm just a normal guy, like most other guys. I'll tell you my opinion if you ask, but I'm not one of those "brutally honest" people. I'm friendly- I have plenty of friends. I just don't have that something extra, I guess.

But there's more to life than that. While I'm stuck as a bachelor, I have time to figure out what else to do in life. I could go into business like my father. I could go into music like my mother. I could something else entirely and be unique. I could take the Capitol up on that spot, then use it as a platform for just about anything else. If I was born in the Districts but moved to the Capitol, was I still eligible for the Games? Probably should figure that out before I made my decision.

So really, it was a good life, especially as far as District life went. Nothing much to complain about. One more year and I'd be an adult, and I had a lot of things set up for me already. Everything was coming up roses.

"Our male District Five Tribute is... Totem Sweeney!"

 _Okay then. Never mind._

* * *

Lilei Sparks, District Five- 15

 _I don't like crowds._

There was a lot not to like about the Reaping. Death was the main problem, of course, but there was a lot more. There was the invasion of privacy when a faceless man in armor poked a needle into your finger and takes your blood without so much as a "please". There was the noise of a thousand children wailing and screaming and their parents hovering just outside the barriers crying for mercy. And there was the pressing, surging mass of people around me, separating me from the person I wanted to be with most- my friend Kayla.

Kayla was a year younger than me, and she was constantly terrified of the Games. My family was better-off and we helped hers sometimes so she didn't need tesserae, but she'd taken some out before we met and she fretted about those extra slips every time the Reaping came. Eleven months out of twelve, she was a friendly, bubbly girl, and she was just what a melancholic loner like me needed. For one month, she became a shadow of herself. I hated to see her so stressed and afraid. No one should have to feel that way, especially a kid.

"Good morning, everyone! Let's have a Tribute, shall we?" Aurelia said, and she reached into the bowl.

"For the ladies, let's have Kayla Dias!"

 _Why?_ Why did it have to be her? This was a horribly selfish thing to think, but why couldn't it be someone who wasn't my best friend?

"Do we have any volunteers?" Aurelia sang out.

"I volunteer as Tribute!" As soon as I said it, I realized how stupid it was, but it was too late. I'd said the dumbest thing anyone in Panem could ever say, right up there with "Snow is a stupid loser head". I'd been given a one-year stay of execution and said "no thanks, I'd rather die". I hadn't realized the full implications and mostly felt happy Kalya was safe, but still... stupid.

"How could you?" my mother asked when she stormed into the room. I'd never seen her so angry. She looked about ready to slap me.

"Mom, please! I didn't even think. I just wanted to help Kayla!" I said, and I burst into tears. I thought she'd comfort me. I knew she was right, but she was my mom. She was supposed to take my side. She stomped out of the room, leaving me with my father and siblings. It was scary to see my father during the day. He always worked at this hour.

"It's all right," he said, but it really wasn't. Even as he hugged me, I was thinking about what I'd done. Lilei Sparks, the dumbest person in Panem.

* * *

 **I started fall semester at college so I have classes M-W (I'm so clever, getting only three days) and I work Saturdays and every other Friday. I can still write, but I might possibly be slower. Then again I always say that. I'm supposed to be graduating, but my college told me I'd tested out of one class when I first came and three years later are now saying I can't graduate without that class, so I'm rather stressed about that right now. I only mention it because I actually got harassed on campus twice and am so scared to go back that the thought of six more months sent me into a full autistic meltdown and that's why I didn't write anything yesterday or the day before. I'm doing better now and this SHOULD work out, but now you see I'm not as high-functioning as I look. So hit me up if you need someone to connect with about school problems or mental health.**

 **Totem:** 6ft 1 156 lb white dude with a greaser hairstyle with jet black hair and amber eyes. He does not have any freckles as he is relative pale.

Lilei (Lie-lay): slashartslashLileihyphenSparkshyphen696972542


	3. Seven Reaping

**After I wrote Hades' intro, I saw his submitter provided a Reaping scene idea even though I forgot to ask. I shall write that scene in the Capitol, since I think this one is a good intro and will net him supporters.**

* * *

Hades Rodriguez, District Seven- 13

I was named after the Greek god of death. This is not to say my mother was trying to send me a message. She just really liked the name, and maybe she thought Hades got a bit of a raw deal. He, Zeus and Poseidon were supposed to be equal, after all. Zeus just loaded the dice so Hades got stuck with the Underworld while Zeus got the clouds. Even then, Hades was just doing his job. Someone had to take the dead souls down. We wouldn't want them running around everywhere in the upper world. People sure liked to shoot the messenger.

Greek myths were sort of my thing. When I was little, I stayed with my mom a lot while she was at work, since Dad worked too and we couldn't afford a sitter. Mom worked at the Peacekeeper station, doing secretary-type stuff and cooking in the cafeteria and things like that. That was where I got my other passion: animals. A friendly Peacekeeper gave me a book while I was out running wild around the station. It was the coolest thing ever. I loved reading about the tracks and signs and everything else. I had a list of all the animals I'd found in Seven and all the others I wanted to find but didn't live here.

Sometimes, my two passions overlapped. We had eagles in Seven, and eagles were Zeus' symbol. He could have used just about any animal though, since he liked turning into animals, especially if women were involved. His symbol could just as well have been a bull, or a swan, or a shower of gold... he had some weird ideas. I didn't get a symbol, since Hades wasn't really an animal lover. Dead animals, maybe? A mole?

When I was around other people, I liked to imagine what animal they would be. Our escort Minerva was very loud and very colorful. That would make her a macaw, though Athena's symbol was an owl. All the kids in the crowd, including me, were currently deer- very scared, very skittish, and wishing very much that we could run away with our tails in the air. That was Artemis' symbol, even though she wasn't scared of anything. I wasn't as scared as the older kids, since little kids never got Reaped, but I was still nervous. Minerva lifted the paper to her red-painted beak.

"Hades Rodriguez!"

Rabbits can get so scared they just fall over and die. I thought for sure I was going to do the same, but I turned out not to be a rabbit. More of a lamb. A lamb to the slaughter.

* * *

Jasmine Ashenvale, District Seven- 16

Whittling was a job for patient, dedicated people who didn't mind taking a long time for what looked like very little payoff. It was also ideal for peope who didn't mind sitting alone for hours and not talking to people. I was something of a lone wolf, so that was fine.

Woodcarvers tended to have a few main themes for their creations. If it wasn't practical things like furniture, it was something decorative. Decorative stuff was usually animals or fancy interlinked stuff to show our skills. This time, I was making my sisters. Not actually their likenesses, though. I was making their spirit animals. And they were watching, so I wasn't alone this time.

My oldest sister Cherry was a nightingale. That was serendipitous, because she was a nurse. Spirit animals weren't always on-the-nose like that. It was something very personal. Only the person could explain their own spirit animal, and it wasn't something you could explain entirely, especially with words. It wasn't something you even understood entirely yourself, at least not in a normal way. Cherry was like a nightingale in that she was a nurturing sort of girl and a bit of a homemaker. However, she wasn't much of a singer, and she didn't eat worms.

My kid sister Demeter was a lizard. That did not mean she was cold or sinister. The lizard represented regeneration and otherworldy wisom. Demeter just sort of had an ethereal vibe, like she came from somewhere else and didn't really belong to this world. She always remembered her dreams, and she was able to control them. She often saw a lizard in her dreams, and that was how she knew. Sometimes your spirit animal just sort of makes sense to you, but in special cases, you actually meet it. Demeter was just that special.

My baby sister Aretha was a ferret. Plenty of people didn't know their spirit animals at her age, but we all knew from the moment that girl came out. She had a clever streak like we'd never seen. You could put a cookie jar at the top of a tree in the middle of a field and she'd find a way to get to it without anyone seeing her. As soon as she learned to talk she could argue all of us into the ground. She saw straight to your weak spots and not a speck of inconsistency got by her. She was a cunning, maddening little ferret.

And then there was me. I was a bear. I'd always hoped I would be a bear. Most people who did spirit animals wanted a wolf or a cat. I was a lone wolf myself, but I knew the bear was for me. Bears were creatures of introspection, solitude, change, defense, and communication with their inner spirits. Whenever I slipped out to the Whispering Pond, usually alone after dark, I hoped I'd see my animal familiar. I hadn't yet, and if I ever did, I'd probably run screaming for the trees. Having a spirit animal didn't make you immune from bear attacks.

* * *

 **I did a little reading so my spirit animal stuff wasn't COMPLETELY off-the-mark. In general, Jasmine is only part Native and the stories are pretty remote by this generation, so she's sort of an amalgamation of different tribes' traditions and ideas.**

 **Hades: Hades is of Hispanic descent but with brownish hair and grey eyes. He is average for his age, standing at 5ft 3. However, he is rather lanky in build. His hair is rather bushy, with thick curls and a mischievous grin.**

 **Jasmine:** Strong arms with a slight thick build to her


	4. Twelve Reaping

**Off-topic note: I could tell from the form that Leila was submitted by a younger and probably new submitter. That's why I added the part about her regretting her mistake. We all start out young, and we all have a Tribute we look back on and laugh about (though Lilei's far from terrible and I've gotten way worse). It's nothing new, so don't feel bad, Nyan.**

 **OOPS sorry it's Lilei! I had a Leila once and I'm just a little dyslexic. I also had a Lilith and a Lily.**

* * *

Appaloosa Stockholm, District 12- 17

I could see Bay at the edge of the Reaping clearing. She was twelve, so she was barely old enough to be here. She got bullied a lot. I knew that because I saw it happen. I saw red, like I always did when someone was being a tyrant, and I stepped in to help. I thought people would like me after that, but that wasn't how it went. Some of them were mad, but most of them were scared, like Bay. I didn't see what the big fuss was. I only broke two of his ribs, and we all knew he deserved worse.

Demi had gotten better over the years. When I first saw her, I absolutely despised her. She was just another Capitol bimbo, as dumb as socks on a rooster, as my grandmother would have said. It disgusted me how Capitolites were so brainless. They had every opportunity. They had endless resources and access to boundless information every second of the day, and they wasted it. They sat around in piles of money eating peaches and cream and their only contact with us was to watch us die. But Demi changed from her first impression. When I saw the Reapings air, she was the only one that seemed to really regret picking the names. She always did it with a minimum of pomp and circumstance, and she wore darker clothes than the others. If she didn't watch herself so carefully, I'd think she was rebellious.

 _You should just volunteer._ It wasn't a real plan- more of an intrusive thought. It popped in out of nowhere and I almost laughed. Me, volunteer for the Games? I didn't even eat meat. I threw a fit after my father butchered my pet goat Libby and hadn't touched the stuff since. My goats were strictly for milk. Obviously I wasn't quite as tenderhearted with people, but killing twenty-three kids wasn't my style. I didn't like bullies, but I wasn't a killer. Even if I was, I had no reason to think I'd win. How egotistical would that be?

 _You got nothing worth staying for._ That was sort of true. I wasn't sure where I was going to go to school, since I'd just been expelled. Most of the people my age thought I was some sort of monster. My relationship with my parents, especially my father, had been strained ever since Dad slit Libby's throat while I screamed. Twelve wasn't exactly a joyride for anyone, even the well-adjusted people.

 _That is stupid. That is really stupid. I've had some dumb ideas and done some dumb things, but that is over the line. No, no, no._

"Out female Tribute is Appaloosa Stockholm!"

 _Well what do you think of that?_

* * *

Dayley "Day" Harrvis, District 12- 13

Summer was the best time of the year. I didn't have to worry about collecting discarded newspapers so I wouldn't freeze to death, and it didn't take so much energy just to stay warm. People were more generous, too. They had more spare coins for my little dances and shows, so I both ate better and needed less food. I didn't have to find shelter and could just stretch out behind a row of garbage cans and go to sleep. I only wished it would last forever.

It was a lovely, sunny day. On days like that, I felt like no one could stop me. I didn't need a house or a family to get along in life, and I didn't need money to have a good time. There were plenty of kids like me, and we watched out for each other. Most of us lost our parents to Black Lung, but a few of us had cooler stories about explosions or escapes. I never talked about my parents, though. Probably we all had things we wished we'd done differently, and we had different ways of expressing it. Some of us talked about it all the time in order to make the pain wear off from repetition. Others, like me, kept it to ourselves and hoped we weren't cursed.

Everyone had something to be sad about, but I didn't let that keep me down. Bad things happen in life, but life goes on. You move on and you start again. I got up from my trash can bedroom and searched the cans for anything useful. It was mostly just a ritual, since no one had thrown anything away in the night. There was nothing edible, which meant I'd have to try something else.

Sometimes I paired up with one of the other street urchins, but mostly I worked alone. Everyone who had ever gotten close to me had died, and I didn't want to test the theory. I picked a cardboard box out of the alley and took it with me to find an opportune spot.

Through experience, I'd found the best place to work was in front of the tesserae station. It sounded funny, since the people going in and out were the poorest of all. Everyone had pride, though, and sometimes the poorest people were the proudest of all. It was humiliating to have to admit you needed tesserae to live. The people going into the station knew everyone else knew what they were doing, especially the ones pulling wagons behind them. Seeing a dirty street kid let them say they weren't the worst. They said to themselves, _"At least I'm not as poor as that kid"._ I gave them back the luxury of pitying instead of being pity. They rarely failed to toss a single, low-value coin into my box when I danced. It wasn't for my benefit. They wanted everyone to see they were rich enough to give money to the poor. Nobody wanted to _be_ the poor.

That was a lot of philosophy, most of which was beyond me. I didn't care about people staring at me. I liked dancing, and I liked coins. I had enough for another meal, and that made me happy. Things were bad sometimes, but the past was the past. You gotta live going forward.

* * *

 **Appaloosa: Chestnut hair to her waist, Emerald eyes. She has a round face and high freckled cheekbones, and a long straight nose. Although she's pretty, she has a resting bleep face. Appaloosa's skin is tan. She has a muscular but not stocky build- around 140 lbs. She stands at 5'11".**

 **Dayley:** **Kinda has that typical Seam look. Dark brown hair, almost black, with grey narrow eyes. His skin is tanned from him being outside so much. About 5 feet and 4 inches in height, but seriously skinny, almost malnourished. He does have slight muscles in his arms though.**


	5. Three Reaping

Tatsuya Hikaru, District Three- 14

District Three wasn't known for its romance, but I didn't let that slow me down. I had many interests- lemonade stands, synthesized music, my sister's band- but matchmaking was just about my favorite. Technology went obsolete in a year. _Love_ was forever. At least hopefully.

"So what are you looking for?" I asked my client- okay, really just my friend- Trix. We didn't see each other much outside school, but he'd heard about my side business and wanted to know more. I met him at my sister Miyuji's concert, which meant we all had to sneak out. Miyuji's band was underground, but not because of the Capitol or anything. Our parents just thought, probably justifiably, that it was frivolous.

"I'm looking for a fast-moving girl, you know? I want to be able to do things like this," he said, waving at arm at the crowded, noisy basement club. "Someone who won't slow me down."

Matchmaking was an inexact science, which was why it was so unpopular in Three. Sometimes opposites attracted, but in this case, that wouldn't work. Introverts and extroverts could work, but the more extreme the difference, the more difficult it was. Trix needed someone similar to him in temperament. Luckily, I kept a running mental file on the people I ran across in school or just running around. I knew someone for everyone.

"Well what do you think of that? I think you're in exactly the right place," I said, as Miyuji's band, Electric Raspberry, yelled in the background.

"Why's that?" Trix asked.

"You're looking for a girl who knows how to live hard," I said, and I looked at the stage. "It just so happens there is one unattached Electric Raspberry. Judging from her stage performance, I'd say she's a fun-loving girl."

"Which one?" Trix asked, looking over the four members of the band. Obviously it wasn't Miyuji, so that left three.

"The lady on the synth," I said. "Aiyei Linx." Trix seemed to like what he saw. Aiyei was a fine-looking girl, so I wasn't surprised. She looked the fast-moving type in her tight black outfit and frizzed-up hair. She snarled into the microphone as she provided backup vocals.

"You think she'd go for me?" Trix asked.

"As long as you don't slow her down."

* * *

Jayla "JD" Dean, District Three- 17

If you bake one cake, that doesn't make you a baker. If you paint one picture, that doesn't make you an artist. But you kill one girl...

I didn't even know why I did it. For the first sixteen years of my life, I was a normal girl. I was a little weird, but everyone's weird somehow. I was, by anyone's account, an upstanding citizen of Three. Even after I met Bitta I was normal. I didn't turn into some psycho girlfriend and carve her name into my arm or anything. We had a fight one day and I just snapped. That was the right word for it. Something in my head snapped, like my brain had an error for a few minutes. I shoved her a little harder than I thought and she fell onto the cement floor of the basement in the tiny little house we shared.

What do you do after something like that? I snapped one minute, and a girl was dead. Since I'd already proven I was the most impulsive, reckless person in Three, I doubled down and burned the house to the ground. Cement doesn't burn very well, though. And that was how I ended up in jail.

Reaping Day was about the only day I got to leave jail. I had a sneaking suspicion it was going to be my _only_ Reaping Day. It wasn't often there was someone my age in jail. We could go years without an underage kid straight up murdering someone. Any kid who did something like that became the most expendable person in the District. Three was a bunch of eggheads. I didn't have any evidence, but I was pretty sure we could mix around a few numbers and make sure the Reaping took care of someone no one in the District would miss.

Most people didn't like the Reaping, for obvious reasons, but there was a lot to be thankful for. I hadn't been around other girls my age since I went to jail. Most of the other women were in for cybercrimes, petty food theft, or disturbing the peace during the Reaping. The only other girl close to my age was a morphling. During the Reaping, I stood in line with all the other girls and felt like part of the world again, even if it was the worst part of the world.

I looked around at the girls in my line and started to make up stories about them. Maybe the pretty blonde played for my team. Maybe she was single and wouldn't mind her girlfriend being in jail. Maybe the dark-haired girl was a secret rebel and ten years from now she'd have overthrown everything.

That was why I could bear the Reaping. No one cared about what I did or who I was. The only thing everyone cared about was the name in the bowl and that it wasn't theirs. They were happy I was there, since it meant one more name that wasn't theirs.

* * *

 **Tatsuya: Brown almond-shaped eyes framed with glasses, but replaces the glasses with purple contacts in the Capitol, to match his hair. 5 feet, 5 inches, 116 pounds. Body type: Slim, but not malnourished Skin color: Porcelain**

 **Jayla: Jayla has shoulder length black hair that she wears in a pretty messy ponytail. She has big blue eyes, and a kind of small nose. She usually wear dark makeup. She would be considered "pretty" if you know, she wasn't in jail.**


	6. Ten Reaping

**Appaloosa was originally for Ten but the submitter was nice enough to switch, hence the name.**

* * *

Philip Kozlov, District Ten- 13

 _I can't go to the Games. I have to work._

My brother was the only one who came to see me. My father said something about buying me a token and I knew he wouldn't be back until long after the train left. My mother was already at the bar when I got up, and she wouldn't be back until tomorrow. It was just me an Edison.

"I have to milk the cows. I have to shovel the manure. It's a mess. I have to check their water-"

"Don't worry about that now," Edison said, his words slurred from the morphling damage that would never go away, even if the therapy worked.

"I have to worry about it. I have to do my work," I said.

"That isn't your job anymore," Edison said. Before I could protest, he went on. "You have a new job now."

"A new job?" I asked. As long as I was working and staying useful, I didn't care what work it was.

"Your job is to win. Do your job," Edison said.

 _My job is to win._ I could do that. I would go to the Capitol and get right to work. I'd never leave the training room. As soon as I got on the train I'd ask my mentor how I should start. I'd do anything he told me. I'd work hard and I wouldn't stop until I'd won.

"Then after I win I'll work on fixing Ten," I said. I couldn't just sit around, even if I was a Victor. I wanted to be a useful citizen of Ten. Once I'd won, I'd put my winnings to work making my District a better place.

"And Filly," Edison said, using the old nickname I loved so much, "Once you get back, you have to go to therapy, okay? You have to work on this."

"There's nothing to work on," I said, but it was just perfunctory. I really _didn't_ think there was anything wrong. I knew all about addiction. You can be addiction to shopping, or alcohol, or drugs. You can't be addicted to work. Working hard is a good thing. But Edison wanted it so much, and I wanted to make him happy. "But okay."

"Okay," Edison said. He smiled, and it made me feel like I really could win. "You can do this. You're a hard worker. You work harder than anyone else in Ten. Just, when you get home, maybe take a vacation. You're gonna need a rest."

* * *

Melissa "Mel" Hedley, District Ten- 18

Night could be cold in Ten. We weren't as far north as Three or some of the other Districts, but when the sun went down, the weather could turn frigid. My skin prickled as I lay on my stomach in a tuft of grass, watching the cows. Night watch wasn't my official job- I was the vet's assistant on the huge cow farm my family worked on- but sometimes I volunteered. It was my only chance to practice a very unique skill.

Ten was just about the only place where a private citizen could possibly own a gun. The firearm I held belonged to the ranch in general. As much as the Capitol controlled the people, it couldn't control the pests. Coyotes were the same as ever, and they could be a real nuisance to the Capitol's steak supply. Under narrow conditions, Ten ranches could apply for permission to possess one single shotgun. Ammunition was provided by the Capitol a maximum of once per month, three shots per application. The only ammunition allowed was grapeshot, which could barely kill a coyote, much less a Peacekeeper. It meant I had to be a crack shot, which wasn't easy with a shotgun. That was sort of the idea with a shotgun.

A cow lowed, but that was nothing to be alarmed about. Cows were pretty dumb. They made noise for any reason or for no reason at all. It was a sudden, collective bolt I had to watch out for.I squirmed around on the hard ground, listening and watching all at once. A coyote howled somewhere across the flat, windswept field, and some of the cows looked up. Coyotes howled every night, and I enjoyed listening to them as long as they kept away from the livestock.

The yipping grew closer, and I drew the shotgun to my shoulder to prepare the shot. A calf squealed suddenly and the cows parted around him, save for his mother. I picked out the reflective pair of eyes close to the ground and took careful aim. It wouldn't do to maim the leg of an expensive side of beef. I squeezed the trigger before the moment was lost.

The coyote let out a yipping scream and rolled over itself as it fell. The mother cow pushed her calf away and I ran to the coyote's side. Its friends would have scattered, and if they hadn't, they wouldn't come back in to face both an army of cows and a gun. I smashed the stock of the shotgun into the coyote's twitching head to make sure it was dead.

It wasn't often I actually made a kill. The coyotes were cautious of the noisy shots and generally didn't try to take such well-guarded prey. In either case, I had to go home. We weren't allowed to carry more than one shell at a time. It was time for me to go home and listen to the rest of the coyotes howling in the night.

* * *

 **Mel's form said she did target practice, so naturally I assumed that meant guns and rolled with it. Rest assured it won't give her an unfair advantage, since there aren't guns in the Arena. She might have a jumpstart on ranged weapons in general, but she won't be unstoppable.**

 **Melissa:** H **air: Dark Blond** **Eyes: Moss Green Skin: Pale/Farmer's Tan Height: 5'6''**

 **Philip: Philip is white, but has slightly tanned skin for working outside for long hours. He is very small and skinny for his age. He has a messy mop of dark hair, freckles, and brown eyes.**


	7. One Reaping

**Some people are confused about the Reapings. For my newer readers: I got bored about 5 SYOTs ago of normal Reapings. They're all the same, and once you've written 240, you've pretty much written them all. Lately I've been requesting scenes instead. They can be anything that shows what the character is all about. They let me establish everyone right at the start instead of just listing names. Usually I request that in the form but this time I didn't list a form to avoid attracting those who must not be named, so most Tributes don't have one and I've been either making them up or doing normal Reapings.**

* * *

Calvin Heidi, District One- 17

"I don't know either."

"Whoever it is, I don't know how he's doing it. I'd tell everyone."

I heard the conversation, but I wasn't part of it. I was behind the two Academy students, wiping cleaning solution off an empty table. As always, I was tangential to greatness. I was the Academy janitor. And I was also the chosen volunteer.

Even if the others had noticed, they wouldn't have guessed. They didn't see that I'd doubled in mass since I started working. I was the help, and I wasn't to be noticed. I was the background, just like the walls or light fixtures. I wasn't bitter about it, though. They didn't mean any harm to someone they didn't know existed.

Someone from the Capitol might think of me as a plucky underdog, but that wasn't true. I was still trained- it was my pay for keeping the Academy clean. I still had advantages and opportunities people in the lower District didn't have. I wasn't a brave hero striking out against my District and fighting for the little guy. I wasn't even sure I was the good guy.

I wanted to win so I could give the money away to the outer Districts. It wasn't fair how One, Two and Four dominated at the expense of poor, weak children. It didn't make me a good person to do what should have been done long ago. The more I thought about it, the more contradictions I saw. I wanted to do something good for the other Districts by killing some of them. I wanted to give the money away when if there were no Careers, one of them would have won the money in the first place. I was underprivileged in One, but I was rich anywhere else. It would take a lifetime to figure out the morals- a longer lifetime than the ones I would be cutting short.

I used knives, and I was good at them. I wondered a lot about that too. I was good in an academy setting, but what would I be like in the Arena? It wasn't as easy when the target wasn't fighting back, or when they were screaming for mercy. We were taught not to think about the people we were killing. A lot of our instructors told us that people who weren't from Career Districts weren't even really human. I knew that wasn't true, and I knew when I severed an artery, I was severing a soul from a body. It was the single most permanent thing possible, and I was incapable of taking it lightly.

Volunteers weren't dumb jocks. A lot of meatheads came to the Academy thinking they'd shove their way to the top, and none of them ever did. There were a dozen girls twice Ruby's size last year, but they weren't competition for her. There was a lot of thinking involved in the making of a Victor, just not the kind of thinking I did. My reason to fight was my biggest obstacle in winning.

"It could be anyone."

"He's probably in this room. We could be looking at him right now."

* * *

Fable Anders, District One- 18

Once upon a time, there was a girl who wanted to win the Hunger Games. She lived in District One, which should have made things easier. But her parents were poor, and she spent all day with babysitters while they both worked hard to get her what she needed. She made up stories to keep herself entertained, and she told the stories to the other kids in daycare with her.

When she was eleven years old, destiny came to the girl. She got a letter in the mail summoning her to the capitol of One, where the very richest people lived. She had been chosen to be a student at the most prestigious school in the District, where she would learn to be a fierce warrior. She lived in the school with the other poor kids, and she worked very hard to earn her scholarship. What started out as ten scholarship students whittled away into four, and she was one of those four. She grew into a young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes and pink lips that she thought were her best feature. She didn't think she was very pretty in general, and she really liked it when people sometimes said she was.

Most heroes in stories use swords, but the girl liked spears better. She liked how heavy they were so she could throw them all the way across the gymnasium. She also liked to make traps, since they were so much fun to design. She planned to stay with the other Careers, like a band of adventurers. She didn't want to think too highly of herself, and she thought it was a better idea not to try to win all on her own.

When she was eighteen, the girl was chosen to represent District One in the Hunger Games. This surprised her, because she didn't think she was the best. She thought they would choose Citraline Zale. Citraline was a very good fighter, and she was the prettiest at the Academy. But the girl swore she would do her very best to win, and if she couldn't win, she would make sure to put on a good showing for the District that gave her this chance. A lot of people died in the Games, and if she died, she hoped she died bravely.

If the girl won, her story wouldn't be over. She wanted to teach in the Academy. She would be rich, so she could help poor children like she used to be. She wanted to work with the young students who just started. They would like her stories, which she would use to teach them. She could train up a Victor of her own. That would be her happily ever after.

* * *

 **Wow, One is really unique this year. I think these two will do well. PSA: A One Victor wouldn't mean Blake gets bumped. I've started doing multiple POVs for Districts with multiple Victors so Tributes' chances won't suffer if the Victor is popular *cough* Acee**

 **Calvin: Calvin has tousled black hair that always look as if they've gelled but that's not really the case. His complexion is the colour of wheat, light brown if you will. His eyes match the hue of his hair and anyone will mistake them for being completely black, with a shine in them. Standing at five feet eight, he's very thin and skinny with a tiny amount of muscle, with a round face which, although quite handsome, seems to be on a wrong body, especially with respect to his very slender neck.**

 **Fable (ps that's a cool name): Straight up Sierra McCormick. She likes telling stories so I went with an alternative format.**


	8. Eleven Reaping

Soya Tores, District Eleven- 14

I never knew what to think when I saw children at the Justice Hall collecting tesserae. I held my mother's hand as we walked past it on our way to the grocery market. Two dingy little children, a boy and a girl, were just stepping outside. Neither of them were older than I was, and the girl couldn't have been older then six. She was helping her brother, who had the oil bottles stuffed into his pants, carry the heavy bag of flour, and it scraped along the ground.

 _Parents are supposed to provide for their children,_ I thought. What was wrong with those kids' parents that they had to get tesserae? It probably wasn't really the parents' fault, though. Parents always knew what to do, and they always knew best. The children must have done something wrong instead. Maybe they ate too much, or maybe they wasted food. I felt bad for them having to drag that heavy bag and having the boy's name in the Reaping bowl again, but in the bottom of my heart, I felt a little judgement. It _had_ to be their fault somehow. The alternative was too horrible.

I kept my feelings about those kinds of things to myself. Once when I was with my best friend Cornelia I saw a similar scene. I said something about people being lazy and she totally lost it.

 _"You have no idea!"_ she'd said, her hands balled at her sides. " _Some people aren't rich like you, okay? Some people_ have _to do this. How can you be so ignorant?"_

" _You mean, you...?"_ I asked, after I got my bearings back.

" _My name's in there six times. I did it so my mother didn't have to grind acorns again so we could eat."_

I never thought Cornelia had to do something like that. We never played at her house, but she said it was because her parents worked a lot and were always tired. After her outburst, I didn't know what to make of it. I'd thought poor people were lazy or did something wrong. Cornelia wasn't lazy and she hadn't done anything wrong. She was still poor for some reason, and I didn't know why. I didn't know what to do about it, either. I started to invite her over more often during dinnertime. I didn't want her to have to eat tesserae bread and acorns, even if she was poor.

I thought about the Reaping bowl a lot, even if my name wasn't in there any extra times. I loved my life with my family and the Reaping was the worst thing I could imagine. I worried especially much about my brother Malt. He was a year older than me, so his name was in there more. I couldn't imagine losing him, and I thought about that more than I thought about getting Reaped myself. I always had this vague idea that my parents would protect me somehow, even if it didn't make any sense. My parents knew everything. I was just a kid, so I didn't have to worry about things like that. I just listened to them.

* * *

Thay Strimling, District Eleven- 16

Life's not all sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes you're a prostitute who gets knocked up by a visiting Peacekeeper. Life does _have_ sunshine and rainbows, though. Sometimes the Peacekeeper rises up to become a politician and decides to make an honest woman of his baby mama. My parents weren't officially married, but the child support was _very_ generous.

"Excuse me, sir," I said to the well-dressed man sitting at the table I was waiting on. "Can I get you anything else?"

"Can I get another bottle of the same vintage?" the man asked.

"Certainly," I said, taking the empty bottle. "I'll be right back with that."

My mother and I weren't hurting for money, but Mom knew what it was like to be on the other side. She told me if she ever saw me acting uppity or putting on airs she was gonna bury her foot in my butt, and that she had a lot of experience burying things in butts. What she intended as a serious lesson cracked me up, since she was the nicest person I'd ever met, but I took the lesson to heart anyway. It was a miracle that we were where we were, and it was no reason to forget my manners.

"Waiter!"

A finger stuck up into the air, signaling me like an errant dog. It was poor form, to be sure, especially in as fancy as restaurant as we worked in. Eleven didn't have much of an upper crust, but there was a tiny population of Peacekeepers and visiting Capitolites. We had a lot of regulars, and I knew the man who was waggling his finger impatiently. He was a Peacekeeper infamous- even by Peacekeeper standards- for extorting bribes from the people he baselessly accused of petty crimes.

"What can I do for you, sir?" I asked. _His_ terrible behavior wasn't an excuse for me to sink to his level. I could still act with decorum even though he didn't deserve it. If I got a chance to stop him or help the people he targeted I would, but no one could ever say I treated him rudely.

"Gimme the check, huh?" he slurred.

"Of course, sir," I said. Our establishment was not meant for heavy drinking, and I was pleased on multiple levels to see him go. I signaled for two of our older waiters, who supported him on his way to the door. I tipped my cap politely as he turned to wave goodbye.

He was a terrible person, and he would very likely never receive any sort of comeuppance. Life still had some rainbows, though. He spent multiple months' worth of pay for most Eleven folk just on his drinks, and Mom didn't need the money. We owned the entire restaurant, after all. I just worked here so I wouldn't get lazy. Anyway, Mom didn't need his bribe money. His massive tab was going right back to the people he extorted, just like it always did. It was a neat cycle someone of his sadly limited intellectual capabilities would blissfully never understand.

* * *

 **Ha, Eleven and One got economically swapped this year!**

 **Soya: She is of Ethiopian descent, and has very dark skin and shoulder length brown curly hair. She's about 5'4 and average weight with light brown eyes. (so basically a total babe)**

 **Thay: Thay is biracial (his mother is African American, his father white). He looks more black than white, but it's still clear he's biracial. He's about average height for his age, maybe on the shorter side, with frizzy brown hair in a short afro. He always wears nicer clothes and keeps clean, and is pretty handsome.**


	9. Eight and Six Girls

**I had been waiting since I didn't have any pairs but I got impatient so here's some girls!**

* * *

Zibby Spooly, District Eight- 17

"Who's ready for some Tributes? I'm ready! I'm _super ready!"_ Rhodius yelled. None of us had ever heard him say something that wasn't a yell, unless it was better categorized as a shriek. He shoved his hand into the bowl and made a dramatic hissing noise as he pulled the name out.

"First up, for the llllladies, we have... _ZIBBY SPOOLY!"_

 _What did I do to deserve this?_ It was such a perfectly tragicomic scene. The Grim Reaper stood onstage holding my name, and he was dressed in a tiger print velvet onesie. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so I did both.

 _What did I do to deserve this? It was that factory, wasn't it? Okay, those three factories. How was I supposed to know tetrachloride dicarbonate and carbonic acid exploded if they mixed? Okay, maybe I should have known before I tried mixing them, but it was an honest mistake!_

 _I bet it was the Dinner Party Incident. I thought soaking the tablecloth in blacklight ions would make a cool centerpiece. I knew semen glowed under blacklight but I didn't know Senator Patronius was going to be covered in it!_

One wouldn't think a self-styled mad scientist would believe in karma, but here I was. I didn't _really_ believe, but the odds against getting Reaped were just so astronomical, especially for a politician's kid who didn't have her name in the bowl any extra times. It kind of made me think maybe oogy-boogy things like karma weren't so far fetched. The more reasonable explanation was that Senator Patronius was mad about the blacklight, but he didn't know it was me. He thought it was just an unfortunate centerpiece. And it was really his fault for not wiping his pants after his bathroom dalliance with Representative Ailey.

Karma's a crackpot. I didn't deserve this. Everything I did, I did for _science._ Maybe it seemed a little crazy, but we'd all still be getting smallpox if some nut didn't think it was a good idea to stick a pin in an oozing sore and shove the ooze into his son's arm. Science and crazy go hand in hand. Karma was being a downright Luddite about this.

I barely noticed as Rhodius called up the boy and announced us. I was still having it out with karma. _You better have done this for everyone else, too,_ I thought. _If all the other Tributes deserve to be here too, how do you decide who wins? I do hope it isn't you who makes the decision. You've already shown your incompetence._

More likely than an invisible and apparently crazy spirit, it was probably natural selection that decided who won. In which case I had a good chance. I knew my way around science, and I was certainly skilled at messing things up. Some of the best Victors were a little off-balance. Acee won about a hundred years ago and she was still one of the most famous Victors. Not to compare myself with greatness, since all I'd shown in my life was the ability to blow up buildings and relationships, but I had to start somewhere.

* * *

Sofie Ferrari, District Six- 14

Angele and I always looked at cars before the Reaping. It seemed like a strange hobby, but pretty much everyone in Six liked cars. We learned how to change oil before we learned to read, and we pretty much always had oil under at least one fingernail. Angele and I both preferred old cars, which was how we became friends. It was nice to have something pleasant to think about before the most terrifying day of the year. Maybe we just liked to look at the cars to pretend we could get into one, push down the accelerator, and never stop.

"This one's nice in a genuine way. It's sort of an _acqua e sapone_ car," Angele said, pointing at a simple blue car. Outside our houses, dropping an Italian sentence would be super pompous and braggy, but we did it sometimes when we were together. As our names implied, we both had Italian ancestors, and we both had someone in the family who insisted on keeping old traditions alive. So, like a couple of old grandmothers, we used the mother tongue once in a while to keep it going.

"That's the kind I like," I said. I didn't care for cars that were all pointed nose and weird angles and ugly, geometric frames. I liked a car with curves. Maybe it meant something, since I didn't have many curves of my own.

"It's getting closer," Angele said, and this time she was looking out the window at the rising sun. We'd come together early to have time to mentally prepare, and it was almost time to put that to use.

"I hope no young kids get Reaped this time," Angele said. "I can't stand to hear them scream."

"I wish I could just jump into the television and make them feel better," I said. I burst into tears whenever someone around me got so much as a paper cut. The Games were a rough time for me. For everyone, though.

"You should have kids if you get married. You'd be a good mom," Angele said.

 _I wouldn't really know._ I knew it was silly, but I always felt guilty that I couldn't remember my mother. She died when I was a baby. All I had was my father's stories, and from what he told me, she was nearly divine. It must have been something to have known her.

"Sofia?" I realized Angele had said it multiple times and sheepishly turned to answer her. She was holding out a little box. We always swapped good luck gifts before the Reaping. We told each other we couldn't get Reaped then, since we had to open them after the ceremony.

" _In bocca al lupo!"_ Angele said. _Good luck!_

" _In bocca al lupo,"_ I said back.

On the way to the Reaping, I eyed the little box. _Wouldn't it be funny if I had to open this on a train to the Capitol?_

* * *

 **Disclaimer: Zibby is very much supposed to be a more silly and not as realistic Tribute.**

 **Sofie: Appearance: Sofie is of Italian descent, with a fair complexion and wavy dark brown hair and warm brown eyes. She is around 5'4 and weighs 100 pounds.**

 **Zibby: pale, tale, lanky, mussed fire-hydrant red curls, freckles all over her face, bright blue eyes**


	10. Hold the Phone

**Hey everyone! I can't write for the moment because I don't have the rest of the forms. I still need:**

 **A TWO MALE from Lokithisismadness**

 **JESSIE CABELLO'S form**

 **A FOUR MALE from Jayman**

 **A FOUR FEMALE from Lord Zagreus**

 **A SIX MALE from LovetheAntagonist**

 **A NINE MALE from Princeofcorinth**

* * *

 **There's a good chance that someone on that list actually already sent their form in. If that's you, sorry about that. I'll check again and give me a kick in the pants. There's also a good chance someone on this list already told me they can't and I moved the slot to someone else, so in that case just ignore your name, and whoever I gave the slot to, don't worry, I didn't drop you.**

 **If you're unable for any reason to send in your form, that's okay. It doesn't have to be a lifechanging reason. It can be just "I'm not feeling it right now" or "I stubbed my toe and it hurts too much". Don't be ashamed and don't think you're messing everything up. If you can't send a form in I'll miss you, but I have a waitlist, so you'll be making someone super happy! Just let me know and I'll move the slot along. This does NOT bar you from future stories and I can totally make a reservation for a future Games if you're just super busy now but still want to participate when you next can.**

 **If you don't have time to make a long form now but you want to keep things moving, you can send me a condensed form. Something like this:**

 **Name, Age, District**

 **Basic personality**

 **One word to describe character's essence**

 **Reaping scene, if you have an idea**

 **Just enough so I can do the Reaping scene and you can fill the rest in whenever is easy for you.**

 **If you just haven't had time yet, that's fine. There's school, jobs, college, families, and tons more stuff. I can wait pretty much indefinitely. I will eventually move slots, but I'll give a lot more warning first. I'm just vain enough that I want everyone to know I haven't slowed down and am still fast if I have all the forms.**

 **Enjoy this moment in the life of our go-to rule token Titian Qin.**

* * *

Titian Qin, Head Gamemaker

Only a week until the Games. Only seven days. Only 168 hours. Only 10,080 minutes. Only 604,800 seconds. It was thoughts like that that kept me up at night as I lay halfway off my bed, my head cranked against the floor and my feet tapping impatiently on the wall. Always waiting, waiting, waiting. Couldn't it be one week of _not_ Games and the Games lasted all the rest of the year? It's not like we don't have enough kids in Panem. If we need to sire more, I, for one, volunteer as Tribute.


	11. Four and Nine Girls

Amphilia Fortuna, District Four- 17

 _The Fortieth Hunger Games, age 8_

I'd been watching Careen from the start. She was the one who was going to win it. I'd never even bothered wasting my time with Angelo. The only time he got my attention was when he put Careen in danger with his backstabbing plan. But she got through it no problem, and then it was all her.

The girl from Seven was big, but Careen was better. It took her a long time to wear the giantess down, but she did it in the end. I could hear the neighbors cheering when the final cannon rang out, even though I was shouting at the top of my lungs, too. Another Victory for Four. When I was big enough, that would be me.

Every year I watched the two from Four, and in between every Games I trained to be just like them. I was already the best of my age group. I wanted it more than any other of the kids I trained with, and they just couldn't keep up. Maybe I wouldn't even wait until I was eighteen. I could probably already do it now. I could be the first twelve-year-old to win.

 _The Forty-First Hunger Games, age 9_

I was wrong. I wasn't going to be the first twelve-year-old to win. Rain was fourteen, and she didn't have a chance. I cheered so hard when she volunteered. I knew she could do it, even though everyone underestimated her. Then I saw her on the platforms with all the other Tributes and I knew how wrong we both were. The other kids were twice her size. They looked at her like a piece of candy. Even her coward of a District Partner, the boy who didn't even want to kill and took his spot from someone who deserved it, had a better chance.

Rain lasted so long. Through all the disdain from her allies, all the times they looked down on her and treated her like a pet, she tried so hard. I wished she'd died in the Bloodbath so we didn't have to wait to see when she'd finally go. When Rhoda speared her, I cried in sadness and relief. I'd cahnged entirely from the beginning of the Games. I actually _wanted_ that goofball Shane to win, because he wasn't a Career. I didn't want to be anything like the Careers ever again.

 _The Forty-Ninth Hunger Games, age 17_

Nymph Wrasse was a killer. She told me she wanted to paint the Arena in as many shades of red as Four had shades of blue. I heard her boasts every week I halfheartedly trained at the Academy. We all knew she was the pick. They used to talk about sending me, back when I actually wanted it. Now I was just another washout.

Nymph wasn't going into the Games, though. Nymph was never going to do to those little kids what so many other Careers had done before. I was going to make sure of that. Even if I had to die for it.

* * *

Lyann Levett, District Nine- 17

A buzzer sounded, summoning me to the front parlor. Not _my_ front parlor, of course. If it was mine, I would be the one ringing the buzzer. It belonged to Peacekeeper Harris, a fat, ugly pig used a third of hus paycheck on alchohol, a third on food, and a third on hookers. I hastened to the room and straightened my apron as I entered.

"Yes, sir?" I asked.

"Wash down my car and give it a wax. I'm having friend over tonight," Peacekeeper Harris said. I nodded politely.

"Of course, sir. I'm sure you'll have a lovely time," I said. _Your ugly car wouldn't be so dirty if you didn't drive home drunk every night and go in the ditch every time._

I stopped in the entryway to make room for one of my boss' Peacekeeper friends. Private Ross showed up early to all the parties, looking to mooch even more free food.

"Hey, Lyann. Looking fine as ever," he said. I squipped sideways and pretended to straighten a doily on a side table to avoid his pinching fingers.

"Oh, thank you," I said demurely, putting a hand up as though I was concealing a flattered blush. _Not for all the money in the world, dickwad. Not for all the jewels in One._

I never considered myself an angry person. It really takes a lot to get me actually mad. It was just that being Peacekeeper Harris' maid was the very definition of _a lot._ It paid the bills, it kept food on the table for me and my brothers, but I definitely earned that money. Taking mental potshots at my waste-of-skin employer was what kept me sane enough to keep my spoken statements civil.

A rich man's house is a microcosmic society. The hired help formed a tiny village. We supported and socialized with each other, and we became a close-knit family. My fellow servants were the only ones I could really open up to. They knew me for what I really was, not just a forcibly happy background character. I gossiped with Kitty after she saw me scrubbing the car and joined in.

"Almost done, ladies" Peacekeeper Harris interrupted, barging into the garage. "Keep working hard and maybe you'll have one of your own someday."

"Wouldn't that be lovely?" I said. _Sure, boss. And it will rain candy and the Games will stop, and you'll turn handsome..._

* * *

 **Amphilia: Amphilia is of German descent, her already darker skin tanned a deep caramel by the sun. Her shoulder-length blonde hair is almost unsettling in contrast. She is 5'10" tall and thin, though not without strength and determination, a fiery hurricane behind her storm-grey eyes.**

 **Lyann: Her hair is curly and red. The hair comes to a bit under the shoulder. Freckles are spattered across her face. She has brown eyes and is a bit taller than the average length. She is dressed in her work clothes most of the time due to the long shifts she makes.**

 **Update: The six male submitter released her slot, and I've mailed the next person on the waitlist.**


	12. Second Update

**Guess who really wants to write more but can't? If you guessed Elvis, heck is wrong with you? Anyway, here's the latest update:**

 **The Two male is in**

 **I still need JESSIE CABELLO'S form**

 **I still need the FOUR MALE form from Jayman. I'm gonna hit him up and see if he can't get me a short version**

 **The Four female is in, since that's Amphilia**

 **I still nee the NINE MALE from PRINCEOFCORINTH. I sent a message since I checked the reviews and there are none from him, so I think what probably happened is he reserved a long time ago and hasn't noticed the new story is up.**

 **I can no longer wait for the SIX MALE and am opening the slot. I want to get this going so send that form in fast if you want in.**

* * *

Daren Gerard, District Two- 18

In Two, no one has to be scared of the Reaping. On television we see the kids from other Districts cowering silently while the escort draws a name, but here, there's nothing to worry about. Reaping Day is a raucous gathering where all the kids in the District are crowded together for a boring ceremony most of us don't care about. We roughhouse, we joke... it's basically a giant party.

"All right, pick a jar," I said, pointing to the three jars in front of me as I sat on the ground. The children gathered around me pointed in unison to the jar on the left- the one they'd seen me put the ball into. The one they _thought_ they'd seen me put the ball into.

"Ehhhhh," I said, imitating a buzzer as I lifted the jar to show nothing underneath. The children fussed and exclaimed as I revealed the ball under the middle jar.

"How'd you do it?" one boy asked.

"Magic," I said.

"No, really," the boy said.

"I made a deal with the devil. It seemed like a good trade," I said. I got a surge of gratification when some of the boys laughed. I wanted them to be happy, not scared. I wanted them to smile when they saw me.

Georgie and I always stood together during the Reaping. That was not surprising in the slightest, since he was my boyfriend. It wasn't even really worth mentioning when I thought about it that way.

Philomena Reaped Foreman Creed, which didn't matter, since I volunteered. It wasn't so much that I wanted to as that I had to. No one was making me, and there wasn't anything compelling me, but it was something I had to do. Someone had to be the one that made it so no one else had to be scared. Also, I needed to know I was more than people said. No one was at fault for their parentage. I didn't ask my dad to not marry my mom. It really wasn't a big deal at all and I didn't care what people said about me, but it _would_ be nice if they stopped saying it.

Jessie Cabello volunteered for the female Tribute. The crowd went wild, of course, since her sister Chrome put up such a great showing a few years ago. I didn't understand why anyone would want to volunteer for the Games after their big sister died in it. I _did_ understand that Jessie was majorly stealing my spotlight. Luckily, I had a plan.

"Is there anything you'd like to say?" Philomena asked.

I grabbed her microphone. "As a matter of fact, yes. I have something to say to Georgie Peters. Georgie, will you marry me?"

He said yes.

* * *

 **Daren's a tall young man, even for his age. He stands at 6'1'', with pale skin. He has got wavy blonde hair, blue eyes. He needs to wear glasses while he reads.**

 **Fun note: I had to do some major context reading to figure out what Daren was, since "bastard" auto-censored in the form.**


	13. District Two Girl

Jessie Cabello, District Two- 18

I heard my father pushing a chair back and coming for the door the second I touched the doorknob. I opened it to see his expectant face, and he didn't even smell like alcohol.

"Well?" he asked, in a tone not excited so much as sternly expectant.

"They picked me," I said. He took me by both shoulders like a manager promoting a high-performing employee, then remembered he was my father and switched it to a hug.

"And you're going to win, right?" he asked. There wasn't a trace of concern for me in his voice. It was the wounded and vengeful tone of someone who's already had his wishes frustrated once and doesn't deserve to have it happen again.

It must have been very difficult for him when my sister died trying to please him. I knew how difficult it was, because I was there. When Jayden beat my sister to death, she took both our futures. I'd never seen my father that angry, and I'd seen him angry enough to send a chair through the wall. That was the only day he ever hit me.

Until that day, I'd squeaked out of volunteering because Chrome was his punching bag. I lost my protector and my best friend when she died. It was just me and my father after that- Ullie had long ago left. She was the bravest of all of us. I was Dad's last hope for glory, and that's _all_ I was to him.

 _"Did she make you proud?"_ I'd asked when Chrome died, after Dad woke up from his drunken bender. He'd laughed in my face.

"They said I was a model student," I said. "the headmaster said he wasn't even worried."

"He better be right," Dad said. He turned and went into the kitchen. "I made you a protein shake. You can take it before you start your run."

 _Is that it?_ I was the best in the District. I was going into the Games. He had another shot at his dream. I waited for him to say something else, but he just handed me the glass and waited for me to get back to work.

"Did I make you proud?" I asked. I was about to go into a game I never wanted, to do a bunch of horrible things I would never forgive myself for. It had to be for a reason.

"I'll be proud when you win," he said.

I put on my brave face and ran out the door, slamming it behind me. I squeezed my fingers around the glass in my hand, and a tear dropped into it as I shook.

Chrome died. Ullie was in exile. I spent my entire life tiptoing around my father and cleaning the vomit off the floor after I got him to stop screaming and throwing things. I was going throwing away my life to make him happy, and it wasn't enough. Nothing would ever be enough. I would never be worth anything. The only person I had left threw me away for a chance at happiness, because having me alive didn't mean anything. One person might have saved me, but she was already dead.

* * *

 **I actually don't have Jessie's form yet. What I DO have is Chrome's form, and there was a section on Jessie in her friends and family section. Some of you are wondering why I haven't given the slot away yet and why I put Jessie in Daren's section when she wasn't in yet, which is a fair question. Normally I would have, but snowstar and I have been planning this since Chrome's first appearance, and I really wanted it to happen. I told her to send in the rest of Jessie's info as soon as possible and I'll go on the tiny section from Chrome's form until I get it.**

 **I don't have Jessie's appearance but I assume she looks similar to Chrome. Chrome was six feet tall with brown hair, tan skin and gray eyes.**


	14. Four Male

**I don't have Patrick's form yet. What I DO have is past knowledge of Jayman's Tributes, who tend to fit the same mold. I know him well enough by now to guess what Patrick is probably like, and if he says he's totally different, I'll reboot Patrick. Same goes for Jessie, since her submitter got back to me and says she intends to change her greatly from her first conception, so Jessie might also get a reboot.**

* * *

Patrick Donegal, District Four- 18

Shane was going to be so proud. I hadn't even told him I was the chosen volunteer. He thought I wasn't training anymore. He was always warning me about the Games and telling me never to volunteer. He was just being a big brother. He'd be so proud when he saw I was really going to do it.

The doorknob to my room in the Justice Hall twisted, and I sat up straight. He was about to come through the door and see his little brother all ready to bring home our second victory.

But Shane didn't come through the door. He stayed in the doorway, leaning against the door like it was the only thing keeping him up. He was sagged against it, and his face was red and blotchy. My big brother was crying.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I jumped up and ran to him. I tried to pull him upright, but he just leaned against me instead. I tugged him to the bench, and he covered his face as he shook.

"Why'd you do it?" he asked.

"What do you mean? I'm gonna win. Just like you," I said. The Games were scary and all, but he didn't have to be like this.

"No one wins," Shane burst out, and his voice cracked like a little boy. "There's just someone who loses least. And it's still too much."

"It's okay," I said again. I'd thought he'd be happy, but now it was all I could do to try to hold him together. I'd known the Games had changed him. He wasn't as easygoing as he had been, and he didn't smile as much. He stayed up late a lot more, and he never wanted to roughhouse with me. "I'll win. I promise. You don't have to worry about me."

"What if you do win?" Shane asked. "You want to be just like me? I can't sleep at night. Whenever I do, I dream about it. I keep Rain's picture on the wall, but I don't need it. I see her every day." He broke down into sobs and forced the rest of the words out. "I don't want to lose you, but I don't want anyone to be like me."

Even as Shane said it, I knew I would _have_ to be like him if I wanted to win. I couldn't goof around anymore, and I couldn't treat this like some grand adventure. The Games changed my brother forever. He came back a man, and that was what I wanted to be. But he came back a man because it killed the boy in him. I'd thought we could party it up when I won. _If_ I won, we'd be left holding each other up.

* * *

 **I don't know what Patrick looks like, but he probably looks at least a little like Shane, who is your normal ginger Irish dude. There's a picture of Shane on his wiki page. It's some ginger soccer player. I forgot his name.**


	15. Six Male

**The Six male's original reserver got his form in, so I went with that.**

* * *

Rory Fender, District Six- 18

"Get over it. Sluts aren't worth crying over."

To be fair, Vella wasn't really a slut. It was just what a big brother had to say when a no-good, low-down, dirty rotten girl broke his little brother's heart. The second part was true, though. Rosen needed to stop crying and man up.

"I thought she was the one," Rosen moaned, and he wiped his nose on his sleeve. "We were gonna get married when we turned eighteen."

"Marriage is a crock. Fairy tales aren't real. There's no such thing as true love and no such thing as a soulmate. You better figure that out quick, cause you're just going to get hurt again. Life's too short to whine about broken hearts and old girlfriends. Find someone else and get back to getting what you were getting. All that really matters is what feels good," I said.

"I don't think that's true," Rosen said.

"Then don't come crying to me when it happens again," I said. We both knew I didn't mean it. He could, and would, come crying to me as many times as he made this mistake. I'd be there every time, but he would still get that same speech until he finally got it through his head.

"Excuse me." Reckon squeezed past us to clean the trash off the table we were sitting beside. Our family had just enough extra money to help the kid out. He hardly ate anything anyway. He did some cleaning and errands and in return we let him crash on our couch in the back room. I scooched back in my chair so he could take my plate, which had held the leftovers I'd been munching on as I laid down some brotherly advice.

"Oh, sorry, Reckon," Rosen said. You'd think Reckon was his brother the way Rosen treated him. No wonder the kid always spent twice as long cleaning Rosen's room than mine.

Reckon moved on to the counter as I prepared the second part of my speech. I heard a crash and turned around as Reckon gasped and jumped back. I looked down and saw shattered glass around a picture frame lying facedown on the floor.

Rosen jumped up and grabbed the frame, swiping shards of glass out of the way. "It's her," he said when he revealed the picture, which showed him and Vella holding ice cream cones. He started to cry all over again, and that really set me off.

" _Idiot!"_ I screamed at Reckon, who cringed away and took a step back. I shoved his chest and grabbed his shirt before he could run off. "Look what you did!" _Stupid runt,_ I thought. _He was starting to cheer up. You ruined everything._

I ripped open a drawer and took out a steak knife, brandishing it at Reckon. "You gonna scream, runt? Not for long! Time to make you into a proper Avox!"  
"No!" Rosen yelled. He grabbed my arm and jerked it sideways. I let go of Reckon so I wouldn't accidentally cut Rosen, and Reckon bolted out of the room.

"Look what he did!" I said, pointing at the glass. I was just protecting my brother. It was nothing to flip out about.

"It's all right. I'm fine!" Rosen said.

"You're sure?" I asked.

"Yes. Don't worry," Rosen said.

"All right, then. He just better not let it happen again."

* * *

 **It's kind of nice to have Rory, since so many of the Careers are ambivalent.**

 **Appearance: A large young man, around 6'3", with black hair and dark brown eyes.**

 **Only a few more left!**


	16. ONE MORE TIME

**THAT is IT! GIMME YO EIGHT AND NINE BOYS, STAT! Send them in, I don't care how crappy they are! Let's get this show on the road!**

 **Eight male- OPEN**

 **Nine male- OPEN**

 **First submission gets it.**

 **PS do i have an Eight boy? If so, ignore that.**

* * *

Titian Qin

 _Know what would really suck? If one of the Districts ran late for some reason and I couldn't KILL people! Surely they'd have a good reason, and I can't blame someone for not wanting their kids to die, but doggonit I wanna kill people!_


	17. LAST BOYS

**At last! Now we can begin!**

* * *

Jacob Morales, District Eight- 17

I could be an escort. Don't get me wrong, Rhodius was awesome, but I could also be awesome. Back when we still had Remus, I used to make wild fantasies about him getting fired since he was a huge bore (which he was) and the Capitol deciding (as they should) to recruit someone who was actually from Eight.

 _And I know just the person,_ I would think. _Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for the best escort_ ever!

If _I_ was the escort, the Reapings would never be dull again. I'd wear crazy clothes just like Rhodius, not the plain things my mother made. I'd light up the stage and crack jokes until the kids weren't even scared anymore. I'd always pick the best names and make sure we got tons of Victors. Eight would be famous for something other than cotton and spools. If there had to be Reapings here every year, I wanted to be the center of attention, not just one more face in the crowd.

If it couldn't be me up on that stage, Rhodius was the next best thing. He was loud and wild and everything I wished I could be. Maybe the Capitol and I could meet in the middle and Eight could have two escorts. Rhodius and I could swap jokes and try to upstage each other with better and better outfits. It would be great for ratings, so really, everyone would win.

"Ladies and gentlemen, get ready!" Rhodius screamed, his beehive hairdo wobbling as he whipped his head toward the bowl. He bobbed up on down on his skinny legs, sticking his hand in and out of the bowl. "Are you ready? _Are you ready?!"_

"I'm ready!" I yelled.

"This year's Tribute, this year's lucky pick, this year's _one-in-a-million_ boy is... _Jacob Morales!"_

 _It's like a dream come true._ For a minute, my star-struck brain short-circuited and bypassed all the downsides of what had just happened. I only knew that Rhodius Tuck had just shouted _my_ name for everyone to hear, and I was about to be on that stage with all eyes on me.

 _Oh yeah,_ I thought as I reached the stage. _It's because I'm about to die._ It was _not_ the debut I had hoped for. It wasn't so much "co-starring with Rhodius" as it was "pity handshake from Rhodius before I die".

 _Oh well. It's the next-best thing._

* * *

Alistair Bruce, District Nine- 18

I like to think I'm a man of many talents. Maybe not many useful talents, but many talents.

"I'm open!" Theseus yelled. My friends had some really weird names, though I suppose an Alistair shouldn't complain. I kicked the soccer ball his way and he shot it at the goal. Our goal was just a line marked in the grass, but he still missed it. We were not a professional-level team. We were not, perhaps, an amateur-level team.

"Goal!"

The shout came from another member of our team perhaps five minutes later. We didn't really keep score, and our game picked up every day from where we'd left off, but we took breaks every five goals or so. I sat down on the patch of grass behind the abandoned shirtwaist factory next to Theseus and Khalia and unzipped my backpack.

"Ooh, what did you bring, Chef Boyardee?" Khalia asked.

"You always say that. Who even is that?" I asked.

"I dunno. It's what my grandma always said," she said.

"But did you bring anything?" Theseus asked.

"Maybe," I said. I pulled a sandwich bag out of my backpack and they cheered.

"Don't be so hasty. They're just bran and brown sugar," I said. My teammates had been surprised when I first told them I was learning to cook from my mother. I just didn't seem the type, but they changed their minds when I started bringing the leftovers to our games.

"Why would you put brown sugar in muffins?" Henry asked.

"Well look at Mr. Moneybags here who can just run out and buy refined white sugar," I said.

"Sugar's not naturally white?" Henry asked.

"I don't know, I guess. I just know it's more expensive," I said.

"It tastes the same," Khalia said as she ate one.

"How about dinner and a show?" Henry asked.

"Oh, come on, you don't want to see that again," I said.

"Yes, we do," Theseus joined in, and then Khalia. I gave in when the cheers reached a dull roar.

"All right, all right," I said. I picked up two bran muffins in each hand and started to juggle them. Like I said, I'm a man of many talents.

* * *

 **Jacob: His form was rushed in since I asked for speed, so the only mention of his appearance was that he's Hispanic.**

 **Alistair: Reddish gold hair. Stormy grey eyes. 6'3. 198 lbs. Leanly muscled, with some scars on his hands.**

 **Rhodius: This isn't really necessary but for those who have not yet been exposed to the glory of Rhodius, he basically looks exactly like Ruby Rhod from The Fifth Element. Basically sounds just like him too...**


	18. It's Like This, Cat

**Wow these get longer as I get more reader-submitted Victors.**

* * *

Kazuo Braun, District One mentor

"You didn't kill many people during your Games, did you?" Calvin asked.

"Not really. Not the first time, and not really the second time either," I said.

"That's good. It's kind of messed up what we do," Calvin said.

"I didn't think so at first, but now I sort of do," I said. "That probably means you won't win, though."

"I'm still going to try. But there are worse things that losing," Calvin said.

Blake Armani, District One mentor

I'd never had a Tribute like Fable. She was definitely strange, but I didn't think it would hurt her chances. People might underestimate her or think she was flighty. She had her flights of fancy, but she could tell them apart from the real world. She knew what she was doing, and she knew storytelling came _after_ the story was over.

* * *

Pray Jager, District Two mentor

"Why did you two volunteer?" I asked my two charges.

"To prove I'm more than what people call me," Daren said. He glared at me, waiting for me to ask what they called him.

"I don't care what they called you. I just care what you can do," I said. He looked surprised at first, but then he smiled.

"You're Chrome's sister," I said to Jessie. "She got a raw deal."

"I don't want to avenge her or anything. Honestly this was my father's idea," she said.

"You let your father push you into the Hunger Games?" I asked. Chrome was tough, but I wasn't sure I had much faith in someone so suggestible. We'd have to wait and see.

* * *

Acee Hal, District Three mentor

"So how are you two going to win the Hunger Games?"

It wasn't a challenge or an insult. I just meant to get the ideas rolling.

"I don't even know," Tatsuya admitted.

"Okay, we'll come back to you," I said, and I turned to Jayla. "How about you?"

"I killed a girl once," she said, hoping I'd be shocked.

"Me, too. Three of them, actually," I said.

"On purpose?" Jayla asked, and _she_ was the one who was shocked.

"They were Careers." I waved a hand. "I wouldn't kill normal people."

"Yeah, me neither," Jayla said. And we were back to where we started.

* * *

Careen Ellis, District Four mentor

"Pardon me, but wasn't it supposed to be Nymph this year?" I asked Amphilia.

"She's a monster," she said.

"True that. Good luck sponsors though," I said.

She shrugged. "Maybe I'll die. It's still better than Wrasse going into the Games," Amphilia said.

"The Games are overrated," I said. They were good to me, and they made me who I was, but there were other paths in life.

"I guess I'm starting out behind everyone else," Amphilia said. I could tell she wanted my advice, and I was glad to see she was willing to learn.

"I think that bridge is burned. Let's not waste time on damage control. You can still win this without help. It will be harder, but we can make this work."

* * *

Shane Donegal, District Four

"Why did you do it?" Shane asked, and the pain in his face cut me to my heart.

"Because I'm your little brother," I said. Shane shrank back, horrified at the thought that he'd caused all this, and I quickly went on. "Because that's _all_ I am. Everyone who meets me, it's 'there's Shane's brother'. You're the one who won the Hunger Games, and I'm the one whose brother won the Hunger Games. After this, I won't just be your little brother. I'm gonna win too, and then we'll be the same."

"I made you feel like that?" Shane asked.

"No! Not you! Never you! Other people," I said. Only after I made my decision did I realize that I shouldn't have cared about other people. The only person I should have cared about was the only one I hurt.

* * *

Sky Levings, District Five mentor

Once in a blue moon, we got someone who volunteered for someone else. This was the first time it ever happened to me. I'd hoped it never would. It was bad enough mentoring someone who got dragged into this and knowing that I volunteered to do what they were so horrified by. It was even worse when someone gave their life and willingly went into the Arena for the exact opposite reason as me. I wasn't fit to be Lilei's mentor. It wouldn't even matter if I was. People like that didn't win the Games. Anyone who didn't put their own life over anything else wasn't coming back.

* * *

Erwin Jackson, District Five mentor

"Hey there, pretty lady," Totem said to the servant setting out refreshments on the table. She looked away.

"You're a shy one. That's okay, I can wait," he said. The servant hastily poured some glasses of water and started for the door.

"Come on, don't be like that! At least tell me when you're getting off work," Totem called after her.

"You're barking up the wrong tree, kid," I finally broke in. Until then, I'd been watching with something like amusement.

"What, is she taken?" Totem asked.

"That's not it," I said.

"She doesn't like boys?" Totem asked.

"That's not it."

"Then why won't she answer me?" he asked.

"Because she doesn't have a tongue."

* * *

Lancia Audren, District Six

I was about to meet my first two Tributes. I'd watched the Reapings over and over, trying to learn all I could and get a jump-start. I didn't learn much, though it did seem like neither of them were morphlings, which made things easier.

"Hi, I'm Lancia and I'll be your mentor," I said when they came in.

"Yeah, thanks," Rory said. He sat down and started eating.

"Hi, I'm Sofie," Sofie said. She offered her hand and I shook it. "Good job winning. It's done a lot for the whole District."

"Thanks," I said, and I smiled with embarrassment. "It did a lot for me, too." We both took a look at Rory, but he ignored us and kept eating.

"Do you know him?" I asked. There was no reason to think so, but it might be true.

"No," she said.

"I don't think you're missing anything," I said. Rory either didn't hear or didn't care.

"I'm sure he's usually nicer than this," Sofia said. Bless her heart.

* * *

Sequoia Wilson, District Seven mentor

My job was easy this year. Jasmine didn't need any help. Hades couldn't be helped. On the bright side, we had a really good shot at bringing home another Victor and I had a really good shot at getting to retire. On the downside, there was no way Hades was coming back. I just wished he wasn't such a sweet kid.

* * *

Tillo Peters, District Eight mentor

Somewhere in all the years of being a Victor, I finally ran out of orneriness. I still wasn't a barrel of sunshine, but I wasn't quite so scary to my Tributes. This year I got lucky and didn't even have to entertain my charges. Zibby was up in one corner of the car poking at the security camera and Jacob was looking over every inch of the car and enjoying all the luxury.

"We'll train when we get to the Capitol. I promise," he said as an apology.

"No worries," I said. Every minute was precious and all, but it wasn't like I really had that much advice anyway. I'd be there if they needed me, but I didn't mind letting them run wild for a bit. Sometimes it was nice to just look out the window and see the world go by.

* * *

Nassor Doyle, District Nine mentor

The first few years of mentoring were really trippy. I actually knew Alistair. Not personally or anything, but I'd bumped into him a few times before I got Reaped. He was just a little kid then- he couldn't have been older than twelve. Not that he was really _old_ now. Too young to die, that was for sure.

"What did you do back in Nine?" I asked Lyann. Maybe we'd get lucky and she was a thresher.

"I was a maid," she said.

"Oh." The Arena would be clean at least. "We can make that work. Play it up and let people know. They'll think you don't know anything."

"I kind of don't," Lyann said.

"I bet you can learn," I said.

"I bet I can."

* * *

Bambi Kirkland, District Ten mentor

Philip sat down at the table and started to straighten the silverware and tablecloth.

"You don't have to worry about that. It's just going to get crooked again," I said. _We're on a train. Trains move._

"Here, I can get that," Philip said, jumping up to help an approaching Avox with his tray. The Avox hesitantly passed the tray over.

"You're a guest... sort of," I said. "You don't have to worry."

"Is there a kitchen cart or something?" Philip asked. "I can help out."

"You're a _guest,"_ I said. "You should be thinking about how you can win the Games."

"What do you think I should train in?" He asked. It was progress, anyway.

* * *

Calvary Warsaw, District Ten mentor

Mel was a coyote hunter. I wasn't sure there was really much I could add to that.

"I think I should practice with bows and arrows, since that's the closest thing to a gun," she said.

"Rumor says there have been guns in some of the unaired Games, but you're probably right. I think you should use a crossbow, though. It's shaped like a gun."

"Good idea," Mel said. We talked a little more about strategy, and then things devolved into personal talk.

"What were you going to do if you hadn't gotten Reaped?" I asked.

"I wanted to be a vet," Mel said.

I couldn't help a single laugh. "Are coyotes allowed?" I asked.

She smiled. "I guess it's only fair. They'd probably be too scared to come in though."

* * *

Frankie Disney, District Eleven mentor

"Wow, this is weird," Thay said when an Avox set down a plate in front of him. "Usually I do that for other people."

"You're a waiter?" Soya asked.

"In the fanciest restaurant in Eleven," Thay boasted.

"I don't have a job," Soya said. "My parents say that's for poor kids." She realized what she'd said and gasped. "Sorry, I didn't mean you were poor."

"That's okay," Thay said. "My mom actually owns the restaurant. She says she'll be darned if I get her money without working for it."

Soya turned to me. "Sorry, we should be listening to you. You're a mentor."

"It's your life," I shrugged.

"What should we do in the Capitol?" Soya asked.

"You two? Sounds like you need to learn basic survival skills," I said.

"Okay," Soya and Thay said. This was going to be easy.

* * *

Nubu Sanders, District Twelve mentor

Dayley looked at the food on the table and his eyes went wide.

"I can eat this?" he asked.

"Go crazy," I said. He did.

"Oh wow, I'm gonna eat all day when I get to the Capitol," he said some time later, after coming up for air. "I better eat a lot now, since I probably won't last long."

"No one better give you trouble," Appaloosa said. She stabbed her fork into the napkin lying on the table. "I'll give them someone to fight."

"Look at that, I already have a friend!" Dayley said.

"I'm not your friend. I just don't like bullies," Appaloosa said.

"I'm not a bully." Dayley raised a finger to make his point.

"I should think not," Appaloosa said.

"Then I guess we're friends."

* * *

 **Vera's not here because I'm not sure where to put her yet. As far as the public knows she just got resurrected and didn't ever win a Games, so she's not like most mentors. Maybe this time she's home caring for the newborn? Once I figure out what role she should play I'll put her in stories.**


	19. Holy Long Career Chapter, Batman!

Calvin Heidi- District One male

It turned my stomach seeing the other Careers training. They stabbed mannequins through and sent knives whistling through the air like they were playing. Terrified outliers tried to avoid eye contact as they peeked over and knew that in this situation, they were the mannequins.

I wasn't innocent, either. I trained just like the rest of them, and I was disgusted by that part of myself as well. I wanted to win, but I didn't want to be a murderer. I scared myself whenever I felt the slightest bit of joy or gratification from training. I didn't want to be one of them.

"Hey, you got a minute?"

Amphilia stood beside me, waiting for my answer.

"Yeah, what is it?" I asked.

"I'm trying to gather up the Careers. There's something I should tell everyone," she said.

"Sure, no problem," I said. I found Fable while Amphilia rejoined Patrick and got Jessie and Daren. We congregated in the lounge nearest the training room. It didn't matter if we skipped a few minutes of training. For us, it was all intimidation. I was actually glad for the excuse not to terrorize the outliers.

"What's up?" Patrick asked Amphilia once we were all seated.

"I won't be joining the Career alliance," Amphilia said.

"Not really a surprise," Patrick said. "She wasn't the chosen volunteer." he explained to us. "She's good though."

"Honestly, I don't think any worse of you. I wasn't sure myself, but now that you've said it, I don't want to join either," I said.

"What's wrong, you don't like us?" Patrick joked.

"I'm a Career, but I'm not really the Career _type._ I'm just in it to win, not really to fight," I said, ready to defend myself if someone implied I was weak.

"Well... me, too," Patrick said. "As much as I _don't_ want to be a copy of Shane, I think I'd better bow out now instead of halfheartedly joining just to leave halfway through."

"So is anyone actually _in_ the pack?" Daren asked.

"I'm game," Fable said.

"I'll join," Jessie said.

"Guess it's just us three," Daren said. He turned to the three of us who opted out. "Honestly, no hard feelings. Looks like none of us are really feeling it this year."

* * *

Fable Anders- District One female

I already knew my own story. I wanted to add more to my collection.

"What's your story?" I asked Jessie. "Why are you here?"

"The same story as Chrome," Jessie said. "My father isn't the nicest guy. He's a good guy deep down, but he has some rough edges. He always wanted to have someone in the family win the Games. It was his biggest dream, so I want to do my best to make it real. I was hoping Chrome would do it. Mostly so she wouldn't die, but also so I wouldn't have to do this. Don't tell everyone, but I'm not really a fighter. I can do it and I will, but it's not my heart. I just want to get it done and go home," she said.

 _Wow. Evil stepparents- evil real parents- and a life of neglect and probably abuse._ It was fun to read about in stories where the girl broke out and became a princess or a warrior. It wasn't fun at all in real life. Jessie was a real girl. It really hurt her when her sister died and her father didn't care. I didn't want her to have to go through any of that. I wanted her to have a happy ending without it.

"Oh. I'm sorry," I said.

"It's okay," Jessie said.

"It is _not_ okay," I said. "He shouldn't treat you like that. What kind of messed up dad does that to his kids? He already got one killed. Dads should love their daughters, not get them killed," I said. My cheeks were flushed and hot by the end. Jessie's dad should be in the Games, not Jessie. And he shouldn't win, either.

"He loves me," Jessie said. I was about to fire back a retort when I saw the desperation in her eyes. The only thing worse for than having a father who threw her life away was having a father who didn't care at all.

"He should. Because you're worth it," I said.

"I wish I had met you earlier," Jessie said. "You're a good friend."

 _I'm a good friend?_ It was funny how someone chosen from all of One to go into the Games could be so insecure. I always felt like I was intruding when I talked to other people. Jessie actually _did_ want to be with me. And I wanted to be with her. Because she was worth it.

* * *

Daren Gerard- District Two male

It was always so important to me that people accepted me and didn't judge me for something I couldn't control. It would have been hypocritical to ostracize or ridicule my fellow Careers for not wanting to join the pack. I still had Fable and Jessie, and they both seemed nice.

"This is a good pack. Two lovely ladies and one me," I said. Jessie blushed and Fable laughed.

"Maybe you'll get lucky," Fable said. "I never did have a boyfriend."

"How about you?" I asked Jessie.

"I was always too busy training," she said.

"Life's too short for that. But then my life will probably be shorter than yours if you trained more," I said.

"No matter how much I train, I still think I'm going to be the first to go," Fable confessed.

"I'm afraid I'm going to come in second," Jessie said.

"Let's make sure neither of those happen," I said. "What were you two thinking for strategy? We should make sure we're on the same page."

"I want to stick with you two as long as possible. We'll be to strong to attack together," Fable said.

"I'm more defensive than offensive," Jessie said. "I'd like to get through this with as few fights as possible. All fights are risky, even for Careers."

"This is really unconventional, but this is an unconventional pack," I said. "It sounds like we should mostly look out for each other and fight only when one of us is threatened. If we do it right we'll be the final three. And if it can't be me, I want it to be one of you."

"Yeah, you seem like a pretty straight-up guy," Fable said. Jessie agreed silently.

"All right then," I said. "Three Musketeers all the way."

* * *

Amphilia Fortuna- District Four female

I didn't want to ally with the Careers. That didn't mean I didn't want any allies. Specifically, I wanted four of them: a fighter, someone who could make traps, someone who knew wildlife, and... a spare. Not someone _I_ would kill, but someone who might divert attention from me in a fight. It wasn't _really_ bad, I told myself, since that person would be protected until that point and would probably last longer than they otherwise would have. I didn't need any more training, so my training time would be spent assembling my team from the various outliers.

 _Fighters._ Rumor was Jayla killed a girl, so she was the first one I thought of. Totem was a possibility. He knew how to fight, but I also thought I could beat him if he got any ideas. The girl from Seven with the bear tattoo had been doing well at the knives station, and she was learning quick with the throwing needles in the unconventional weapons station. Alistair was doing some good stuff with throwing knives. Appaloosa, meanwhile... I could tell she was a fighter just by looking at her. I had lots of possibilities there.

 _Trappers._ The only two who had gone to the trap-making station were Tatsuya and Sofia. Neither of them looked like much, but they didn't have to be good enough to win. I didn't _want_ them to be good enough to win. If both of them fell through, I might have to do the traps myself.

 _Wildlife specialist._ The first choice was obvious. The girl from ten was a coyote hunter. After that, my second choice was Hades. All he'd done pretty much all day was talk about animals. Third choice, Jasmine. For all-around usefulness, she was probably the best Tribute to ally with.

 _Someone easy to dispatch._ Lots of choices there. Dayley, Sofia, Tatsuya, Hades. I hoped to get four allies, but someone might end up pulling double duty. The waiter from Eleven and the maid from Nine were also possibilities. Almost every one of the twenty-three Tributes fit in somewhere. The only exceptions were Rory and Zibby. Rory... just screw _that_ noise. And the last time I saw Zibby, she was frantically pouring something onto the bomb-making table after she melted a hole through it. That girl was both too smart _and_ too dumb.

* * *

Patrick Donegal- District Four male

"I need your help."

I felt like a rat asking Shane for help after hurting him so much, but I knew it was best for both of us in the end. Shane knew better than anyone how to get me out of this alive. That was what he wanted most, even if he was dying inside through the whole process. We sat down on either side of a table in my room.

"Pick your battles," Shane said. "I know you want to be a big shot and show everyone what you can do, but _pick your battles._ This is not negotiable. Don't go running out challenging everyone and picking fights so you can be a more impressive Victor. After the first one, you're not even going to want to fight any more. The people you kill aren't stats for a record. They're the number of ghosts that will follow you around, haunting you with thoughts of the futures you cut short."

 _That took a turn somewhere._ What started out as practical advice swerved into a look into the demons my brother usually swept under the rug. I'd thought he didn't even have any demons. How could I have been so stupid? You didn't fight a war without getting some scars.

"I won't. I promise," I said. "In fact, I wanted to talk about that. I wanted to lay down some rules about fighting. About who I should fight and who I should kill, if I have to kill someone." I grabbed a tablet from my bedside table and turned it on.

 _Rule 1: No killing kids._

"How's that?" I asked as I showed it to Shane.

"It has to be more specific," he said. I added some more words.

 _Rule 1: No killing kids. Kids are Tributes 13 and under._

"That sounds right," Shane said. It wasn't so much age as maturity. If there had been one of the psycho Tributes we occasionally got, they wouldn't have been exempt. That led into rule 2.

 _Rule 2: It is okay to kill people who are trying to kill you._

"That's probably only going to be Rory," I said. My fellow Careers weren't the killers of most years, and everyone else was smaller than me. "Maybe Jayla... maybe."

"Let me see that," Shane said. I handed the pad over. He wrote something down and I took it back.

 _Rule 3: The best battle is an avoided battle._

"You trying to tell me something, bro?" I asked with a smile.

"Yeah. I want you to come back."

* * *

Jessie Cabello- District Two

My entire life had been run by my father. In some weird twist of fate, his final act of control gave me more freedom than I'd ever had. My father wasn't in the Capitol. He couldn't see me. He didn't know if I was training day in night. And that meant I wasn't going to.

 _I can do whatever I want,_ I thought after the first night. _But what do I want?_

We'd gotten to the Capitol late, and I'd gone to bed early. I'd slept in deliciously late in the feather-soft bed with its light, shiny silk blankets. I rolled out of bed not a minute earlier than I felt like and promptly jumped back onto it to lounge as I planned my next step.

 _I'm going to eat breakfast now._ I was going to eat breakfast because _I wanted to eat breakfast._ No Dad waking me up at 5 o' clock sharp and mixing up a protein shake while I did stretches. I was going to eat breakfast at 10:30 and I was going to eat whatever I wanted.

The tablet on my nightstand had an extensive room service menu, which came on automatically when I opened it. There was a section for foods that could be sent directly via the nook built into the wall of my room, but it was more fun to have someone deliver it. I picked out a huge cinnamon roll and a plate of bacon. No healthy food for me- not this time.

I wasn't going to skip training just to spite my father. I wasn't as dedicated as he wanted, but I wasn't going to cut off my nose to spite my face. It was a simple manner of only having a few days before the Games. I'd trained for years. I wasn't going to get any better in that amount of time. What my dad didn't know wouldn't hurt him. He would be able to see me during the Games, and I _would_ be trying my hardest then.

My breakfast arrived in less than five minutes. I pulled huge chunks off the soft, spicy cinnamon roll and ate bacon when the sweetness got to be too much. I left the empty dishes on a shelf by the front door.

 _I'm going to take a bath now._

It had been a long time since my last bath. I almost always took showers. There wasn't much reason for that. We just had a small tub and I often used some weird muscle-soothing shampoo my dad bought. It smelled really strong and would have stunk up a bathtub.

Not so in the Capitol bathtub. It was four feet long and three feet deep, and there was a big box set on the wall above it. _Scents,_ one row read. _Add-ins,_ read another. _Effects,_ said a third.

"What to pick, what to pick." I ran my fingers over the first row and pushed _lilac._ Under _Add-ins,_ I pushed _rose petals_ and _soothing salts._ For _Effects,_ I had to go all the way. I pushed _rainbow._

As soon as I did it, a panel rolled back in the ceiling, revealing two rows of lights. Half a dozen colored bulbs flicked on and started to move in a circle, turning the water rainbow. Chutes in the side of the bathtub released flower petals and bath salts. Being inside the tub was even better than putting it together.

 _What should I do next?_ I thought as I soaked.

 _Whatever I want._

* * *

 **Here be the result of me trying to do longer POVs so people get more exposure before they die and having six characters to write about this time. We had so few normal Careers that there was barely any foundation for a pack, so I didn't really make one.**

 **I have more info on Patrick now. Looks like he won't really have to be changed much, since I wrote him pretty similar to what his submitter ended up saying. I don't have much on Jessie yet, so she could theoretically leave the pack or something.**

 **Kudos to me for writing the best-sounding bath scene I've ever read. That would be a big brag if I'd ever read a detailed bath scene. It is in part based on the amazing bathroom experience I had when the other half of LCS and I went to Jamaica. PROTIP: That was WAY cheaper and WAY more luxurious than we expected.**


	20. Parade

**Here's the parade I missed! I forgot to ask for parade outfits, so I had to make up most of them. I almost always make up bad ones, so get ready.**

* * *

Polyphemus Ignotus

"Good evening, Panem! I'm Polyphemus Ignotus, and this is the Forty-Ninth Hunger Games Parade! All parade, all the time! Let's start, as we always do, with _Diiiistrict Ooooone!"_

"One always make sure that the parade starts off strong. Calvin is channeling some Golden Boy vibes with a head-to-toe coat of thick gold body paint, with only a pair of golden briefs for modesty. Fable has turned into Panem's Baroque Cinderella in a blue ball gown encrusted with gems of all sorts. Calvin is focused on not accidentally showing off the goods, but Fable is free to have a good time waving her jewel-covered wand."

"Get out the tissues, folks. Seeing Jessie is like seeing a ghost. She's a terra cotta warrior in her sister's image. This is a moment none of us will forget. Daren can't very well follow up after that act, but he looks very intimidating in a suit of shining armor."

"The stylists from Three must be on strike, because I have never in all my years seen something this terrible. I've seen some lazy outfits, but this is a whole new level. Three is the technology District, of course. Tatsuya is wearing a black bodysuit stamped all over with the literal word 'technology'. Words fail. He looks royally mad, too. You only get to be in a Hunger Games parade once. He was hoping for a little more. Jayla is also wearing a bodysuit, but hers lights up in a mesmerizing, _technological_ pattern. She's pointing back and forth from herself to Tatsuya, who appears to be telling her to shut up."

"That is... that is a new one. The chariot for four has been converted into a tank, with Amphilia swimming around in a coral-covered toga. This plays in beautifully with Patrick's outfit. Like his Victor brother before him, he's wearing swim trunks in Four's signature shade of blue. Those in the front row better watch out, because Amphilia is proving to be a splasher."

"Totem is dressed as an atom. Atoms, for Five... groundbreaking. He can't really do much but stand there, since his costume is so large he's almost wedged into the chariot. Lilei is a luckier in a simple white toga with a resplendent corona hat. She was shy at first, but she's starting to wave at her fans."

"Six can be a difficult District to style, but Sofia won't be held back. She wears a sleek black and red racer's suit with smoky makeup. She carries a helmet cocked on one hip. Rory, meanwhile... is the car. They might as well have put Sofia on his back."

"Oh, what do you know. Hades is a lumberjack. He's holding his axe high, though. He definitely wants to tell the audience he's not afraid, even if he is one of the younger contestants. Somehow, Jasmine's costume fits her perfectly. She's draped in a thick, seemingly real bear skin. She holds her arms high, channeling the beast within."

"Zibby is... what is that thing called? Oh, ha! A _spool!_ She's counting on Alistair to hold her up, since her arms are inside the spool. Alistair is wearing... a factory outfit, I guess. It just looks like a boring blue shirt and pants. He's the hero Zibby needs, though, as he keeps her from falling off the chariot."

"The pair from Nine fit together like bread and butter. That is because Caleb is a loaf of bread and Lyann is a pat of butter. There was only one way to go from there, and they take it: Lyann and Caleb are locked in a big bear hug."

"I guess that technically matches the District... Melissa is wearing a unicorn horn, horse ears and a rainbow tail. It honestly looks like they were going for 'horse' and added the horn to make it clearer. Philip got the worse end of this bargain, since he's wearing a costume made entirely of coiled lasso rope. While he tries not to itch everywhere, Melissa is tossing her head and whipping her rainbow extensions around."

"Soya appears to be a soybean. Clever? Stupid? You decide. She appears uncomfortable with all the attention and is smiling politely as she stands straight in the chariot. Thay has no such reservations. He clearly loves his woven vine suit. Oh! He also loves the flowers now blooming off it. He's picking them off and tossing them at his adoring fans."

"Wow, real mixed bag this year. Dayley is your typical miner. He's making up for it with his enthusiastic performance, though, waving and cheering the crowd back. Appaloosa is... a cow? What is this? She doesn't know either. She's shrugging at the audience with her cloven hoof gloves."

"Bit of a letdown this year, but still some shining moments at the Forty-Ninth Hunger Games parade. Ups, downs, and both of them make the other all the more obvious. Let's hope the Games are just as dramatic."

* * *

 **I also forgot to list who wanted allies. Here's a quick list:**

 **Amphilia: Seeking aforementioned group of allies**

 **Totem: Seeking allies**

 **Lilei: Open to trustworthy allies**

 **Sofia: Looking for one strong female ally her age**

 **Zibby and Tatsuya are allied**

 **Lyann: Open to allies**

 **Melissa: Looking for 3 allies (just saying, sounds like Amphilia...)**

 **Philip: Might accept if asked**

 **Soya: Looking for an older ally**

 **Thay: Looking for one or two allies**

 **The list includes only Tributes with ally status listed in their forms.**


	21. Chemical Bonds

**Goofs:**

 **I switched Alistair and Jacob, since 8 and 9 look alike and I often conflate them. I also called Jacob "Caleb", since I wrote Caleb's name after Jacob to remember who submitted him and conflated the names since they both have a C in them. I _could_ proofread better, but I think it's funnier to have random bizarre goofs in my chapters.**

* * *

Tatsuya Hikaru- District Three male

My short time in the Capitol had shown me it was exactly the place I belonged. In order to stick around, though, I'd need to win the Games. To win the Games, I'd need some allies. Luckily, I had some experience bringing people together.

Matchmaking was a business first. I didn't really know any of my fellow competitors, and I couldn't be myself around them until we knew where we stood. I knew who I wanted to ask first, though.

"You're pretty good at that," I said to Zibby, who was bent over some smart-looking contraption. She looked up sharply at the interruption. "What is it?"

"A pressure-triggered bomb, hopefully," she said. She outlined the steps with a hand as she narrated. "Someone steps on this flat part, the weight breaks the partitions inside, two chemicals mix as a spring pushes the both into the air, where they start to corrode as they fall onto the victim."

"So, that would kill you? Or at least really hurt?" I asked.

"I hope so," she said. "Or I guess I don't really _hope,_ but you know."

"Do you have a minute to talk?" I asked. "I have a proposition for you."

"Sure, what is it?" she asked, leaning against the table.

"How about an alliance? I have something I can offer you," I said.

"I wasn't really planning to, but I shouldn't be hasty. What is it?" she asked. Of course a girl so into science would be curious. It was what I'd been banking on.

"Obviously, you can make just about anything. You'll be unstoppable in an urban Arena. If the Arena is, say, a jungle, though you'll be out of luck. That's where I come in. As you can see, I'm a talker. I can be what people want me to be, and I _love_ making a scene. That's what Capitolites love, and that's what gets them to send things. If I can convince you, I can definitely convince them," I said.

"All right. Sure," Zibby said.

"Oh. Wow. Great," I sad. I'd been expecting more hesitation, but I wasn't complaining.

"You'll probably die soon anyway, so what could it hurt?"

 _Well, I never._

* * *

Zibby Spooly- District Eight female

Kind of funny I ended up with the boy from Three. I always felt like I should have been born in Three, and Tatsuya definitely fit more in the bright fabrics and loud fashions of Eight. I didn't mean to be mean when I said he would probably die soon. He just didn't seem like th type to win.

I should have been scared, but I was really excited for the Games. I didn't care about the killing part, though it didn't really bother me. If I was stuck in an Arena and the only way to live was to kill other people, I didn't consider it a sin. What I looked forward to was the actual Arena. I wanted to test my skills in the real world and see what I could do in some foreign, probably desolate environment. I didn't have to worry about laws about what chemicals I could buy or making napalm "too close to a school" just because it was "right across the street."

I hadn't intended to spend much actual one-on-one time with Tatsuya before the Games. He was a cool guy, but our skills didn't directly mesh. I thought he would spend most of his time gathering sponsors and I would spend mine making plans for Arena gizmos. Then I remembered something very important.

"Hey, Tatsuya?" My ally was swinging around some crazy double-bladed contraption he called a "haladie" and insisted would attract sponsors since it was really sweet-looking.

"Yeah, what's up?" he asked, holding the haladie upright and trying to figure out how to rest it on the ground without poking a hole in the floor.

"Your mentor is Acee, right?" I asked.

"Really it's Beetee. Acee is Jayla's mentor. She doesn't seem to be with her now though. She said something about getting a slushie," Tatsuya said.

"If Acee is sort of your mentor, and I'm your ally, that means she's sort of my mentor, right?" I asked.

Tatsuya saw what I was thinking. "I'd say so. She'd probably love to meet you." He hung the haladie up and came with me to make introductions.

"Acee? I brought a friend," Tatsuya said when we reached the Three lounge. He said she usually stayed there when she wasn't with him or Jayla. It didn't matter to her which room she was in, since most of them had wall-projected computers.

"A _girlfriend?"_ Acee asked, turning from the screen to look at us.

"More of a business partner," Tatsuya said. Acee waved at me and I broke out into a manic grin. She smiled back.

"Hey, I saw you. You were the one that melted the table," Acee said.

"You know how to do all sorts of crazy stuff, right?" I asked.

"Sure enough. You wanna make some mad science?" Acee asked.

"Do I ever!"


	22. Still Waiting

Totem Sweeny- District Five male

"Hey there, pretty lady. Looking for an ally?"

"Wrong team, brother," Jayla said. _No worries, eleven left._

"Hey there, pretty ladies. Anyone need an ally?" I asked Jessie and Fable. They pointed to Daren. _That's not fair. He gets two? Oh well, nine left._

"Hey there, pretty lady. Looking for an ally?" I asked Amphilia.

"I'll call you if a spot opens," Amphilia said. _So that wasn't a no._

"Hey there, pretty lady. Looking for an ally?" I asked Lilei.

"Thank you very much, but I'm not sure yet," she said. That was okay. She seemed really young, and I was no cradle robber.

"Hey there, pretty lady. Looking for an ally?" I asked Sofia.

"I'm looking for another girl right now. I don't have a thing against boys- I just don't want to be way weaker than my ally," Sofia said. _Okay, at least she didn't reject_ me. _Just my gender._

"Hey there, pretty-"

"No." _Okay, not Jasmine._

"Hey there, pretty lady. Looking for an ally?"

Zibby looked up from her experiment, her face streaked with soot and her hair standing up with static electricity. "I already have one. Do you need glasses?"

"Hey there, pretty lady. Looking for an ally?" I asked Lyann.

"Let me talk it over with my mentor and get back to you," she said. _Score! I knew I had it._

"Hey there, pretty lady. Looking for an ally?" I asked Melissa.

"I'll think it over," she said. _Two in a row. I'm on fire._

"Hey there, pretty lady. Looking for an ally?" I asked Soya.

"I _am!_ I'm not sure who yet, though," she said. _Three in a row! I'm doing something right._

"Hey there, pretty lady. Looking for an ally?" I asked Appaloosa.

"No." _Okay, three is pretty good._

I didn't want to pressure my potential allies, so I worked on my other skills while they thought. I spent some time sparring and then moseyed over to the slingshot station. Slingshots didn't seem like much, but they were easy to make, light to carry, and they could hurt if done right. The general idea was to hit an eye, the throat, or the forehead. Those were all small targets, but I practiced hard and started to pick it up.

At the end of the day, none of the pretty ladies had gotten back to me. I was about to limp back to my room when someone came up to me.

"Hey there, big boy. Looking for an ally?"

Thay brought a lot to the table. He had connections back home who would send him a lot of supplies. He was cheerful and positive and he was learning to fight with a dagger. He wasn't very pretty, but nobody's perfect.

* * *

Thay Strimling- District Eleven male

Nothing's fair in Panem. We're all equal, but some of us are a lot more equal than others. Those of us whose fathers are Capitol politicians are definitely more equal. My father couldn't get my name out of the Reaping bowl, but he could get me out of the Games center. A trio of guards and an eagle-eyed escort kept me from running, as well as the knowledge that everyone I knew would be killed if I made a false move.

Ostensibly, I was out of the building to visit a rally for my father. Really, I was out of the building to visit a rally for me. I waited in the stands through a boring speech about 'The Way Things Should Be'- my father's slogan- and a bunch of introductions, and then I made my move.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet a very special guest. This is my son, Thay!" my father announced. I stood up in my seat and made my way to the stage, flanked by my three "escorts".

"Hello, everyone! I'm very excited to be here!" I said, and I waited politely as the crowd cheered.

"I'm very grateful for this time in the Capitol, and I've really been enjoying it. I know you're here to support my father, and that's definitely a super good cause, but I wonder if I can take just a few minutes to tell you about someone else you can support. Get ready for a shock: it's me."

The crowd laughed, and I took an oratorial pause to let them continue.

"Yeah, I'm not going to try to trick anyone. I want your support, no lie. _However,_ I do have some reasons. You people in the Capitol don't have anyone in the Games. That sounds really nice, but it means you don't have anyone of your own to root for. This year's different, though. I may not have been born in the Capitol, but I have Capitol blood in my veins. I'm the closest thing in the Games to one of you. For the first time ever, you have a homeboy in the Games. Every District in Panem has a Victor now- even Twelve. There's only one left. This time, let's see the Capitol win the Games. If you support me, I'll bring it home for every one of you. It's your time. Time for _you_ to win."

My father favored long speeches. Waiters try to get things done as fast as possible, and we don't overstay our welcome. I put on my most grateful, humble face and mouthed words of thanks at the crowd as I left the stage. I sat through the rest of the boring political rally about things that didn't affect me, shook hands and chatted with anyone who wanted to see me afterward, and escaped back to the Games Center.

"Good news," I said when I found Totem. "We don't have to worry about sponsors anymore."

"We pretty much already didn't," he said. "You know I'm rich, right?"

"Oh." Double _rich. We're gonna eat like kings._

* * *

 **There's a lot more to Totem than chasing girls. This was just a perfect moment for a funny scene.**

 **Just a note: Thay's political connections don't give him an unfair advantage, since you are the sponsors.**


	23. Two Random People

Jasmine Ashenvale- District Seven female

 _Quaint Quriosities,_ the sign over the tiny shop read. From what I gathered when I walked past it on my way through the Games Center, it was a sort of emporium to things related to past Tributes. There were models of some tokens I recognized, and hopefully non-sharpened versions of Blake's claws. I wouldn't have gone it at all had a little wooden sculpture not caught my eye.

 _Hey, that looks like the one I made._ I took the bait and entered the store. I approached the shelf where the hand-sized sculpture sat and confirmed it. It _was_ the one I made, or at least an exact copy. No doubt the storekeeper scoured the Districts for any possible wares as soon as the names came out of the bowl. Since my family owned a carving shop, she- I could see the owner behind the counter- was able to sniff me out.

She couldn't possibly have known, but it was my very _first carving_. Back when I was fifteen, I made my very first carving. I'd made a few more before then just playing around, but it was the first one that could actually go in the store for someone to buy. Surprise, surprise, it was a bear. He was standing on his hind legs with his front paws tucked in so I didn't have to carve them. He had sort of a sideways snout, since I wasn't very good yet, and a bit of a goofy grin. It was good enough for the store, but my dad bought it as soon as I turned my back, since he wanted to keep it forever. But that was just the beginning of the story.

My family had been in carving a long, long time. My father said it went back before the Dark Days, even before the country before that. Maybe as long as there had been trees. We had another tradition that also maybe went back that far. When a girl or boy made their first carving, they got a tattoo of it. It was part of becoming a woman, sort of. There was a lot more to becoming a woman, but that was one part. Sometimes the first carving turned out to be the spirit animal, but that wasn't always the case- my cousin Boll's first carving was a wagon. It just turned out that way in my case.

I still had that bear on my back. Of course I did, though. That was the point of tattoos. We did it at home, since we didn't have real parlors in Seven. My father held the scraper himself and tapped the design into my skin, bit by bit. It did hurt, but not as bad as I'd expected. I was so excited and proud I hardly noticed. Pain was nothing to me. I was a woman.

* * *

Day Harrvis- District Twelve male

There was something good in the Games. I didn't mean in some Pollyanna "always be optimistic way". It was a good thing, but it was also bad. Training for the Games took all my time and energy. I was scared and worried, but I was only scared and worried about the Games. All my other regrets and anxieties were long gone. Facing death sort of wiped my slate clean.

I went from station to station during training, hoping to learn a little about a lot. I wasn't going to become a master of anything in a week, but I might learn something important about a lot of things in that time. Of the weapons stations, the only one I really held out any hope for was daggers. They were small and all you had to do was point the pointy end at the enemy.

After I practiced sticking them at things, I moved on the throwing them at things. I wound up and tossed a throwing knife. It thumped sideways at the edge of the target. I tried again and got another thump.

 _Thump._ "Okay, third time's the charm. _Thump._ "Fourth time. Fourth time's the charm." _Thump._ "Maybe it was fifth time."

An hour went by, and I'd seen no improvement. I started the day hopeful, but it was draining out of me. I tried to stay positive, but it was hard when there was so much on the line. It seemed so carefree now, but in a few days, it wouldn't be targets. I had to get this now. There was no room for optimism.

 _Thump._

I hadn't made a hit once. I wasn't any better than when I started. I had so many cards against me as a thirteen-year-old from the District with the fewest Victors. I couldn't afford anything other flaws.

 _I can do this._ I threw the knife again, and it clattered to the floor.

 _I have to do this._ The knife hit the floor.

I couldn't aim anymore, not past the mist in my eyes. I faked a cough so I cold wipe my eyes with my hand, then drew back another knife to try again.

"Hey. Need a hint? Watch the handle, not the point."

I'd been so focused, I hadn't even heard the attendant come up beside me. She looked away as I hastily wiped my eyes again. I fixed my eyes on the handle of the knife and tossed it. It hit the edge of the target blade first and bounced off.

"That's better. You just have to throw harder so it sticks," the attendant said.

"That's not so hard," I said, and I smiled. Life might look impossible, but it really wasn't. After all, everyone lived it.

* * *

 **Jasmine's submitter said I could pick whether she joins with Amphilia. I think it would be good for both of them, so if Amphilia's good with it, she's in.**


	24. More Peeps

Alistair Bruce- District Nine male

 _Okay. No problem. How hard can it be?_

We didn't have lakes in Nine. Nine was pretty much one big field. There was a bunch of flat stuff, then more flat stuff, and then some little hills just to spice things up. It would be weird to have a pond. That would be a whole bunch of space where we could be growing grain.

I'd never seen a pool before. It was five feet deep at the deepest and maybe twenty feet long by thirty feet wide. It really wasn't that big, but it was just so much water. It was weird.

"Need a suit?" a lifeguard asked, getting up from his chair to help me out. I was familiar with the concept of swimsuits, but I was still surprised when he opened a wardrobe set into a wall and took out a tiny piece of stretchy material.

"That's it?" I asked, holding the short shorts in front of me.

"That's it," the lifeguard said. I should have expected it, based on the similar pair of red shorts he was wearing.

 _You might as well be naked._ I didn't run around in my boxers in the fields, no matter how hot it got. I went into the changing room and shucked my clothes, and the floor was damp under my bare feet.

I needed to know how to swim. If the Gamemakers ever got it into their heads to kill half the Tributes at once, all they had to do was flood everything. They did that once before, and it was the shortest Games in history. I could get by in Nine, but I had to be able to adapt in the Arena.

I crouched by the side of the pool and dipped a foot in. It was warm, as I would expect from a Capitol pool. I slid into the pool and stood in the water.

 _No use trying to figure it out. Better to learn by doing._ I flopped forward and tried to propel myself toward the other side. The water flowed around my flailing limbs and I sank under the surface. I got my feet under me and stood back up, happy the pool wasn't deeper.

"We have water wings if you need them," the lifeguard said, holding up a pair of baby-sized bags of air. I pretended I didn't hear him and tried again.

Once I figured out I floated if I wasn't doing anything, it got easier. I started rowing myself like a boat on my back and made it across the pool. All I _really_ needed to be able to do was float, so things were looking good.

 _I'm getting better,_ I thought as I flipped onto my stomach and started over. Then a shadow fell over me and a huge splash tumbled me sideways.

"Hey, Nine! I didn't know you could swim!" Patrick called when he shot back out of the water like a dolphin. He swam in a tight circle on his side and rocketed suddenly across the pool in three strokes. "Race you!"

 _Showoff._

* * *

Lilei Sparks- District Five female

I needed some allies. I'd been hoping someone would see me training and show interest, but no dice. I'd been at the throwing knives station, since I wanted to look like I could fight. It wasn't as hard as I thought, either. I was no sharpshooter, but I might actually be able to hit someone. I wasn't able to attract an ally, though.

"I want an ally," I told Sky while we were meeting in the Five lounge after dinner.

"So go get one," she said.

"No one seems to notice me," I said.

"Sounds like you need to advertise," she said. A wild idea popped into my head immediately.

"Can you help me find some paper? And some pencils? And something sticky?"

Two of those things were supplied in one when Sky told me I could just use magnetic paper, which was apparently a thing for kids in the Capitol. Most of them just used fancy computerized styluses, so pencils were harder to find, but we managed. I bent over the coffee table in the lounge of got to work.

First off, I drew a picture of myself. I gave myself huge eyes because they looked pretty, and I added the green and yellow streaks I sometimes put into my hair with leftover drink powder. I drew myself holding two huge knives so I looked suLyaper strong and added my name in the corner.

 _Lilei (Lie-lay) Sparks is seeking allies!_ I wrote. _Do you fit the bill?_

 _Qualifications: Trustworthy. That's literally it._

 _Why should you be allies with me?_

I took a minute to consider before writing the next section. I didn't want to give away all my secrets, but I also had to look appealing if I was going to get any takers. I didn't want to lie, either- my ally would find out eventually, and she would be really mad.

 _Strengths: Perceptive, sneaky, good at defence, level-headed, stam-_

I stopped, trying to figure out the adjective form of "stamina". _Stamina,_ I finally wrote. They knew what I meant.

 _Weaknesses: Not really a good fighter._

 _But you know the real reason you should ally with me? You already know I'm so loyal I'll die for someone! That's literally why I'm here. Just watch the Reaping tapes._

 _Lilei Sparks, your ideal ally. Contact Lilei for more information._

Sky helped me make copies of the poster, and I set off to post them. I didn't want to barge in to anyone else's lounges, so I left the posters on the outer doors of the other District lounges. All I had to do then was wait.

* * *

 **Amphilia is looking to add Zibby, Tatsuya, and Jayla to her alliance.**

 **Lyann wants to join Thay's alliance**

 **Lilei's drawing:** **ht t ps :SLASH SLASH nyantodamax145DOTde vian tartDOTcomSLASHartSLAShLilei - Sparks - 696972542**


	25. Bugs, Bombs and Booty

Sofia Ferrari- District Six female

No one ever went to the bugs station. They should have, though, because bugs could be the difference between life and death. It was rats that carried the Black Death that decimated the Tributes in the Graveyard Games, and one of the boys in Nassor's Games ate bugs when he hid in a tree. Last year, Six dominated in the gross food eating contest. Our Victor Lancia ate sperm egg sacs, and Trent ate maggoty cheese. Bugs could save your life. Even if they were gross.

The bug lady's face lit up when I came to her station. She almost ran around the table, tousling the tablecloth in her haste.

"Hello there! Would you like to see some bugs?" she asked.

"I'd like to _eat_ some bugs," I said.

Her smile got even bigger. "Really? You're in the right place!"

The woman gestured to a circle made of twelve bowls. Some of them contained free-roaming bugs and others contained quicker-moving bugs in sealed tubes.

"This is a wichetty grub," the woman said, taking a fat white caterpillar out of a bowl. "It tastes creamy and nutty. You can roast them, or else you can just eat them raw."

I gasped as the woman popped the bug in her mouth. "Yum," she said, and held out another. "Care to try?"

"Go big or go home," I said. I took the bug, scrunched my eyes shut, and bit off half of it. It was cold and a bit juicy, but on the whole it tasted sort of creamy and nutty.

"It's not so bad," I said when I opened my eyes to see the woman's eager face.

The woman took a lifeless insect from another bowl. "I'm sure you know what this is," she said, showing me a cricket. "These are roasted."

 _It's already dead? That's not so bad._ I took a cricket and ate it. It was crunchy and almost meaty.

"I like that better than the grub," I said.

"How about some dessert?" the woman said. She opened one of the tubes and shook out an ant with a huge rear end.

"This is a honeypot ant," she said. "See how it has a huge... well, it's got some junk in the trunk. That's because it eats nectar and stores it for the anthill. You pick it up and just-," she demonstrated. "Bite off the good part."

 _You eat the butt? Okay._ I felt bad eating the poor ant's butt. I had to least give it some dignity. I pinched its head between my fingers before I ate the other end. It tasted like sugar water. If that was the worst bugs could do, I could make it work.

"Thanks for showing me all the bugs," I told the assistant. "I'm going to see if I can find a weapon that works for me."

"Okay! Have a good day," the assistant said.

"What was your name, anyway?" I asked.

"Butterfly," she said. Of course.

* * *

JD Dean, District Three

The Capitol had a yearly deathmatch where twenty-three kids were slaughtered for the amusement of rich people living in debauchery and hedonism. However, they also had unlimited free slushies. It sort of evened out in the end.

"Hey, girl," Acee said when she walked into our one-on-one training session. "Ooh, slushie. Good idea. Now what did you have in mind for today?"

"I want to learn how to make a bomb," I said.

"Oh, shoot. I don't know how to make bombs," she said.

"Shoot, guess I'll ask Wiress," I said.

" _Wiress?_ You insult me. She's a smart lady, but she doesn't know anything about bombs," Acee said.

"Oh. Maybe you know something?" I asked.

"I guess maybe I know a few things," she said.

"Should we go to the training room?" I asked.

"Oh, no. We don't need that stuff. Let's just check the minibar," Acee said.

"I don't know if we should be drunk while we make bombs," I said as I followed her.

"Har har." Acee bent over the minibar and opened the door. "Let's see here..." she came up with a bottle of tonic water and a metal can of soda.

"Okay, this isn't _exactly_ a bomb," Acee said. "But it's what first came to mind. You ever dropped one of those candies into soda and made it fizz like crazy?"

"No, but I've heard of it," I said.

"It doesn't have to be soda. It just has to be an acid," Acee said. "And where are we gonna get acid? A battery." She hopped up on the counter by the minibar and tugged on the ceiling-mounted fire alarm, screwing it off and taking the batteries.

"Be super careful while you do this. Watch your fingers, or you won't have any." She took a multitool from her pocket and poked at the battery in a very dangerous manner until liquid bubbled up. She set the battery on its end and tapped a hole in the bottom of the soda can, letting a tiny bit out. Then she pressed the battery to the hole in the can.

"Pressure gradients meant the acid will go from the battery to the soda," she said. "That should do it. Then you just plug the hole."

"Next up, you need a candy. Since it's just one candy, it should be easy to get someone to sponsor it. Affix the candy to the can tab, or to whatever container you're using. You now have an armed bomb. Simply aim the tab end at someone's eyes, crack the tab, candy mixes with soda- or any sugary water, it doesn't matter- water comes shooting out of can, and _surprise!_ The water also contains friggin' _battery acid."_

"Sound good. What if I don't have those things, though?" I asked.

"Then it's a good thing I have a million other bombs."

* * *

Rory Fender- District Six male

I wasn't going to learn anything in the next few days. I was better off enjoying my time in the Capitol before it was over. There was fancy food to eat, silk sheets to roll around in, and painted Capitolites to ogle. Speaking of which...

There was a bell by my bed that summoned an Avox. I rang it and nibbled on chocolates while I waited for the answer. There was a knock on the door, and I rolled out of bed to answer it. A pale-faced Avox girl with red hair stood at the door, waiting for my request. I got right to it.

"Hey, what do you do if you want some companionship around here?" I asked. The Avox looked quizzically at me, like she needed clarification.

" _Romantic_ companionship," I clarified.

The Avox's eyes widened. She blushed as she pointed at the top of her legs.

"Yeah, that," I said.

The Avox's eyes moved as she tried to figure out the answer to my question. She pointed into my room and I stood aside to let her in. She started tapping at the tablet at my bedside. After a minute, she held it up.

 _I'll get someone who knows,_ she'd written on the screen.

"I don't suppose you're down for some action?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Oh, I suppose you're not allowed to," I said. She shook her head in confirmation.

"That's all right. I wouldn't want to make any more trouble for you," I said. "I suppose you've kind of had enough."

The Avox darted out of the room before I could say anything else. I'd heard they got in trouble if they talked too much. If they _communicated_ too much, that was, since they couldn't talk.

 _She's not coming back, is she?_ She was afraid whatever superior she asked would tell her to be more accomodating and send her back and was hoping I wouldn't report her. I wouldn't, and I wouldn't have done anything if she'd been sent back. First off, I wasn't a terrible person, and second off, I didn't need to. I could find someone who was actually interested in my proposition.

After an hour of waiting, I called it and left the room. If I couldn't bring the company to me, I'd bring me to the company. There had to be someone in the Games Center who wanted to share a luxurious, spa-like room with an exotic Tribute.

* * *

 **Note on Jasmine's POV: The storekeeper just went to her District and found her father's shop. Her father showed Jasmine's first sculpture since that was the one he still had, and the storekeeper made copies. The original is still with her father.**

 **Note on JD: Sadly, the mentos battery bomb is total rubbish. I have no idea what would happen if you tried that, but I do not suggest handling battery acid barehanded. The problem with writing a super smart character is I'm not that smart.**

SLASH art SLASH Lilei HYPHEN Sparks HYPHEN 696972542 Maybe that will work? Lilei's original picture

Lilei's submitter added a pic of her making the poster: : / / DOT devian DO SLASH art SLASH Looking HYPHEN For HYPHEN an HYPHENAlly HYPHEN 708379123


	26. One Ally and Two Loners

Lyann Leavett- District Nine female

"So. Is the offer still open on allying?" I asked Totem, who was eating lunch with Thay.

" _Yes!"_ he blurted, and then he looked guiltily at Thay. "I mean, if it's okay with you."

"How could I stand in the way?" Thay joked.

I took a seat next to Thay. I didn't mean to insult Totem, and I didn't have anything going on with Thay, but I wasn't sure I was ready for the full Totem experience yet.

"Great! I've been working on edible plants. Are either of you two working on that? I've also been working on knives, but I think Totem has that covered."

"No, neither of us know much about plants," Thay said. "We probably won't be needing much food, since I have a lot of connections. It's good to have a backup, though."

"All right. I'll keep working on that," I said. We talked strategy through lunch and separated afterwards to do our training.

The Capitol acted like it was doing us a big favor to let us train for a few days before the Games. What a joke. We weren't going to be able to save our lives with a bowl of leaves or a couple of knives thrown at a target. We couldn't learn anything noteworthy in a week. We didn't have a chance against people who had been practicing a handful of deadly skills every day for years. Even if we _could_ learn something in a week, the Careers already knew it, and they had the same amount of time that we did to make themselves even better. I was making the best of what I had and I wasn't giving up, but it was a joke. They gave us that week so we could fool ourselves into thinking we had a chance, because hopeful kids were more fun to watch die.

I felt almost stir-crazy in the Capitol. I didn't have things to clean or anyone to take care of. Whenever I tried to tidy things up, an Avox would materialize from nowhere and give me the closest thing to a scolding I'd ever seen from an Avox. I could train, which was a sham. I could try to clean and get shooed away from an Avox. Or I could sit around surrounded by luxury feeling sort of like I was taking advantage of someone, even though I didn't know who. All the luxuries around me came from the Districts, and none of them were given willingly. It wasn't the Capitol's hospitality. It was the blood of the Districts.

I wasn't dumb enough to rebel. I'd gotten this far by staying quiet and keeping my thoughts to myself. That would be my only chance of winning. I was definitely the quiet one in my alliance, and that could be what saved me. I liked both my allies, but none of us had much chance. The joke would be on the Capitol if I won. They all said the Hunger Games were a chance for anyone to make it big, no matter where they came from. Only a Capitolite was dumb enough to believe that.

* * *

Soya Tores, District Eleven

Orchard said I had to drop my standards and do what I had to do if I wanted to win. She was my mentor, and I definitely wanted to listen to her. I wasn't sure I could be as savage as she wanted, but I had to try.

"Oops." I turned to get up and knocked over a glass of orange juice. It spilled all over the table and started to drip onto the carpet. Orchard headed for the bathroom, but I stopped her.

"It's okay. I'll call an Avox," I said. I pressed the button under the table just as she raised a hand.

"Don't-" she started. I was about to ask what was wrong when the Avox came in.

"I spilled some juice," I said, pointing at the stain. The Avox pulled a rag from her pocket and started to dab at the stain.

"While you're here, make the bed, too," I said. "And then bring us some more juice." The Avox nodded. I turned around and flinched when I saw Orchard making just about the scariest face I'd ever seen.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Orchard took my arm and pulled me into the bedroom.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"Telling the Avox what I want," I said. She must have seen Avoxes before. She probably dealt with them all the time.

"I haven't expected anything from you since we met, but you still disappoint me," Orchard said.

"What?" I barely knew Orchard, but she was still an adult. I was supposed to respect her and do what she said. As soon as I heard her say that, my eyes filled with tears.

"Who do you think you are, treating someone like that? You think you're better than her? Is that what it is?" Orchard asked.

"My mom said only bad people get turned into Avoxes," I managed to say.

"Did she tell you only bad people go into the Games?" Orchard asked. She saw in my eyes she'd guessed right.

"I'm sorry," I said, and I burst into full-on ugly crying. I didn't mean to make my mentor mad.

"I'll fix it," I said, and I ran back into the other room. The Avox was done with the stain, and she was standing by my bed.

"It's okay! I'll do it. You can go do whatever you want. Thanks for cleaning my juice," I said. The Avox looked at me, then at Orchard, and then fled the room. I looked worriedly at Orchard.

"Maybe I was wrong about you," she said. That was all I needed to hear.

* * *

Jacob Morales, District Nine

I picked up a spear and aimed it at the target. I would practice until I was a crack shot, and then I could win everything. I'd hunt for food and keep the others away. If they kept coming at me, then I'd have to fight, and I'd be able to win. I'd track down the last other Tribute and after a grand fight, I'd be the Victor.

Two hours later, things weren't going as well as I'd hoped. I'd made some progress, but I could do better. Maybe the spear wasn't my strong suit. I'd gotten good enough to hit some things and maybe scare the others off. It was a useful skill, but I could move on to something else now.

I started up the tracking simulation and looked at the holographic markings. I'd become an expert tracker, using tiny markings on the ground and the environment to hunt down anything I targeted. I would know about anything in my area and nothing would get past me. I'd slip through the forest like a ghost, and no one would see me coming until it was too late.

Tracking went pretty well. I learned a lot of things, and I hoped I could combine my tracking skills and spear skills to be a hunting machine. Truth be told, I just got bored after a while. It was better to have a lot of skills, anyway. I couldn't really be an expert in anything after a few days.

I wrapped the climbing rope around my leg and looked up the sheer wall. No one could kill me if they couldn't catch me. I'd be a monkey in the Arena, jumping between the trees and never touching the ground. If someone tried to come after me, I'd scuttle away like a squirrel. I'd climb all the way to the top.

I dipped a foot into the pool. I'd be a fish in the Arena. Most of the Tributes couldn't even swim. I'd duck under the water and hide out of sight until they went away. No one could chase me if they couldn't even come out into the water. Other than the two from Four, I'd be unstoppable. I'd just have to hope they sorted themselves out.

There were a lot of paths through the Arena. I tried them all on one by one. Painter. Bowman. Forager. Runner. Some of them worked, and others didn't. I could be any of those things, but I had to pick carefully. Somewhere, in all those choices, was a Victor.

* * *

 **Leila will be allying with Philly. Speaking of which:**

 **I happened to see Leila is seeking trustworthy allies and Soya is seeking older allies. I thought I'd play matchmaker and suggest Soya join the alliance. I think Soya's submitter mentioned she was going to be pretty busy and wouldn't be on much, so she might not have seen the possible alliance. If Leila is interested and I don't hear from Soya before the night before the Games, I might pair them up.**


	27. Three More Because I'm Impatient

**Looks like I messed up Jacob and Alistair again! I checked the Reaping chapter and that said Jacob is Eight and Alistair is Nine. Hopefully that's right?**

* * *

Phillip Kozlov- District Ten male

Training was much better than riding the train. I could get a lot done in the training room. I wove a basket, and made a fishing hook, and learned how to start a fire. I'd tried all the stations for at least a few minutes, and I learned something at almost every one.

My favorite so far was the darts station. Darts didn't seem very useful at first, but they were light and easy to use. If I used a blowgun they could go farther, but I was afraid I'd inhale and get myself in the back of the throat. Instead I just threw them. If they were poison, I might be able to hurt someone. I'd have to go to the poison station after this one.

When I first got on the train, I was overcome with guilt over not being at home to help everyone. The feeling persisted through the first night, but when I got up the second day, something was different. I felt lighter, like gravity had been suddenly lowered. It was nice at first, until I figured out why I felt that way.

I felt lighter because I wasn't with my family. I loved them all, but I'd known for years how harmful they were to my mental well-being. We were all pieces of work. Edison was right about that. Maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought, but it wasn't ideal. Every day at home, there was constant anxiety and unrest. Life at home was like a never-ending shower just a few degrees too hot. I never knew how bad it was until I stepped out.

In the Capitol, I had every reason to work hard. My actions over the next few days would determine whether I lived or died. I got to the training room as soon as the doors opened and I was going to be there until they closed. Winning the Games took hard work, and no one worked harder than I did.

* * *

Hades Rodriguez- District Seven male

"Good morning, how are you?" I called out when one of the mentors from One walked by.

"Seven trash," she sniffed without looking at me.

 _Rude,_ I thought. But you can't please everyone.

Weapons weren't going to work out for me, so I didn't even bother trying. I went to the trapping station instead. I wasn't sure I could trap a person, but I knew some things about little animals. The station had various traps already set up, and behind the station, I saw a cage.

"What's in there?" I asked.

The attendant stooped over and unlatched the cage. He stood back up holding a rabbit. "This little guy is our victim. We use him to show how the traps work." He set the rabbit down in a larger mesh enclosure.

"Will this one work?" I asked, pointing at a loop snare that seemed easy to make.

"Let's find out," the attendant said. He helped me set up the snare inside the enclosure. It was as easy as it looked, and I made a note to remember that one for the Arena. The attendant baited the snare with some lettuce and we crouched by the enclosure to wait.

"The peaceful rabbit roams the grassland, searching for food," I narrated.

"What's that?" the attendant asked with amusement.

"Just giving him some background," I said. The attendant chuckled as I went on. "He stops to sniff the air, then spots a handful of delicious-looking lettuce. Is it a trap? Or is it simply a welcome windfall? He approaches..."

"You are a strange kid," the attendant said.

"That means I have potential," I said.

"You certainly have something, kid," the attendant said.

There was a soft _sproing,_ and we both looked up. The rabbit hopped in a nervous circle with a loop of string wrapped around its foot.

"I certainly have a rabbit," I said.

* * *

Appaloosa Stockholm- District Twelve female

I had one strength coming into this. It was something of a weakness back in the District, but here it was a good thing. I never backed away from a fight. I sometimes- maybe more than sometimes- picked them. And it just so happened there was a hand-to-hand fighting station in the training room.

"Hey," I said to the nearest sparring partner. "Wanna fight?"

"You bet," he said. I was initially surprised. I didn't usually get such a positive reaction when I said that. Then I remembered it was literally his job to fight. Of course he liked it. _Aw yeah, he actually doesn't think I'm a weirdo._

"How do you want to go about this?" the sparring partner asked as we got into the ring and assumed fighting positions.

"You're way better than me," I said. For all my flaws, I was willing to admit there were people who knew more than I did. "How about you just come at me and I try to keep away? Eventually I'll get good," I said.

"Okay," my partner said. He shot out an arm and punched me in the nose, knocking me flat on the ring's padded floor. He aimed the blow carefully so it wouldn't break my nose, but he didn't hold back any of the force.

"Owwww," I said, and my voice sounded funny from the numbness beside my nose. "You really went for it."  
"I thought you're not going to get any warning in the Arena, so I better start now," my partner said.

"Yeah, good idea, just... ow," I said. My partner helped me up. He no doubt expected me to attack him by surprise, so I surprised him by darting away to the far side of the ring as he got ready to hit me before I could hit him.

"Hey, what was that?" he asked, holding out his hands in confusion. "I thought you were going to fight back."

"I am," I said. "Just not right away. I need to make a plan first," I said.

"Better make one fast," he said, running across the ring at me.

I wouldn't be able to train like this on my last two nights in the Capitol. I would need that much time to heal from all the bruises and scrapes. It was great training, though. I was a lot faster by the end of the first session. I even hit back once. The people I fought back home would be stunned to see me getting my butt kicked so bad, but I wasn't fighting untrained boneheads anymore. I was going to be fighting highly prepared gladiators who didn't stop when their opponent was down. I wasn't the biggest fish in the pond anymore, and this was no time to be proud. If I was going to be good enough to make it out alive, I needed to take a lot more lumps.

* * *

 **Philly's POV turned out short. In my lists I've been marking character names orange as I give them POV's, so I marked Philly's yellow to remind me his was short.**


	28. The Last Two

**Note I forgot to make earlier: Patrick got a POV instead of Shane in the mentor chapter because I got their names mixed up. Shane and Patrick sound exactly alike, right?**

* * *

Mell Hedley- District Ten female

Instead of trying to learn all the plants and probably poisoning myself because a lot of them looked the same, I kept things manageable. I learned the most common plant from each of the offered biomes- lamb's quarter for grassland, chicory for woods, tannia root for the jungle, and bearberry for the tundra. For the desert I learned how to best get water from a cactus. I already knew some of the plants all kids knew, like clover and dandelion, and some plants were obvious, like bananas. Starvation wasn't my biggest threat- one plant would probably be enough, since most Games only lasted a few weeks and I could theoretically live almost a month without food.

After I got my plants learned, I had to relearn everything I knew about hunting. A bow was similar to a gun in just about one way: they were both projectile weapons. Everything else was different. A gun kicked back, but a bow didn't. A bow was way lighter than a gun to hold, but way harder to pull back and fire. I didn't expect to have much of a jump-start, and I didn't.

The first thing to do was pick what kind of bow I wanted. The longbows were the only kind I would be able to make in the Arena, but I quickly discarded that idea. Even if I got all the materials and managed to make something like a bow, it wouldn't be well-made enough for someone of my ability to use. I'd have to hope I either got one in the Bloodbath of got sponsored one. The recurve bows were easier to use, but it was the crossbow that immediately caught my eye. It was the most similar in shape to a gun, and I could use the same stance as I shot. That was the only one I could get good enough with to do significant damage.

Shooting at a dummy was really grisly. It was just white fabric stretched over a frame, but I knew what it represented. Coyotes were pests. They ate our livestock and we couldn't afford not to kill them. There were plenty more of them. People weren't pests. There were more of us, but it wasn't the same. Coyotes were all alike. People are all different. You can't just lose a person and make another one. I wanted to say I'd only kill someone else if they attacked me first, but I didn't know if that was true. The Arena wasn't the outside world. People became things they weren't in there.

I hadn't known Calvary before the Games, but I could see from the tapes she'd changed. Cornflower got off pretty easy because she was already weird and she didn't have to kill anyone. Bambi got it worst of all. From what I saw, he was a timid and sweet boy when he got Reaped. Something terrible happened in the Arena, and I'd never told him I watched it. But he was alive now, and he was only alive because he did those things. The Arena changes everyone- either into a Victor or a corpse.

* * *

Philip Kozlov- District Ten male

I knocked on the door to the District Five lounge. Lilei opened it a crack and peeked out.

"I'm here about the allies," I said, holding up the poster from my door. "Is it still open?"

"Yeah, come on in," Lilei said. We sat on one of the neon blue couches surrounding a television wall. As I came in, I saw the girl from Eleven on another of the couches.

"So is there an interview or what?" I asked.

"Not really. I was just telling Soya I didn't even think I'd get any replies, so I'm not exactly picky," Lilei said. "Do either have you have any objections with the other?"

"Not me," Soya said. "More is better."

"It's fine with me," I said. It might not have been the best idea to ally with two of the less pugnacious Tributes, but I really had no idea what ideas were good ideas. I had no experience with fighting a Hunger Games.

"Soya has been working on survival things," Lilei said.

"I've been doing a little of everything," I said. "I like to keep busy. Maybe I can focus on getting better at building shelters."

"I'll see if I can get better at throwing knives," Lilei said. "Then everything is covered."

The conversation idled. After talking about our Games strategies, we didn't know what to do next.

"Should we tell a little about ourselves?" Lilei asked, reminding me of horrible icebreakers on the first day of school every year. But she didn't mean it like that. At least she didn't ask us to say our names and something we liked beginning with the first letter.

"I live on a farm. I milk the cows. I guess I'm a stereotype," I said.

"I live on a farm too, but it's crops, of course," Soya said. "I didn't really know it, but I think we were rich. I think I need to learn more about how other people live."

"My family was rich too," Lilei said. "Seems like this year's bucking the odds. We have a few really young Tributes and a lot that probably never took out tesserae."

Once we got started, it was easy to keep talking about the different Districts and different lifestyles. Lilei was the most interesting to listen to, since Soya and I both knew what farms were like but had no idea about urban Districts. She'd never even seen a live sheep. Imagine that.

* * *

 **As suggested, I put Philip here because he got a stubby one last time and so we could see the alliance. I thought I only had one POV here (Mell's) but it turned out I forgot I'd colored Jacob orange. Now I can really start writing fast because the next few chapters are formulaic and don't require much character develoment.**


	29. Interviews

Caesar Flickerman

"Good to see you, Calvin. We've noticed the volunteer alliance is much smaller this year. Is there a reason for that?" I asked my first guest.

"A few of us didn't really have our hearts in it. It's better to have a devoted alliance, even if it's smaller," Calvin said. He seemed like a solid, levelheaded boy, and I suspected he'd go far.

Fable's white bejeweled dress wouldn't have lasted a minute in the Arena. It would have been a scarlet bejeweled dress.

"I'm here to find a happy ending. But I know you have to slay a lot of dragons to get there," she said.

"What brings you here?" I asked Daren. He volunteered, after all.

"Oh, I just thought Two was a little underrepresented among the Victors," he joked. We'd had a lot of jokers over the years. Some of them even won.

"It's Jessie! This seems familiar somehow," I said to Chrome's little sister. She smiled sadly.

"I hope the ending isn't familiar."

Strange letters written in neon paint glowed on Tatsuya's shirt. He seemed at home on stage.

"It's time Three got another Victor. Acee has style, so how about someone to match her?" he said. It _would_ be popular with the viewers...

"They didn't want to let me wear the trench coat," Jayla said. "I didn't want to look like a clown."

"So I understand you've already killed someone," I said. "Will that make things easier."

"It was an accident," Jayla said. "We've all been there, right?"

"What do you think of the Tributes so far?" I asked Amphilia.

"I think we have an average bunch overall," she said.

"What do you expect for a score?" I asked.

"The Games aren't determined by scores. They're determined by Tributes."

"Another second-generation," I said to Patrick.

"I don't think we can compare me to Shane yet. I haven't won," he said.

"Mytrrrfrrrmr," Totem said in a ridiculous gravelly voice.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" I asked.

"Mrrrfrmmbbgr," he said, looking darkly out from beneath a low-set hat.

"Have you been working on any special skills for the Games?" I asked Lilei

"I've been trying some things," she said evasively. I tried a couple more times and she skirted me a couple more times.

"I'm just going to go in there, do what needs to be done, and get out," Rory said. Never heard that one before.

"I'm liking the Capitol so far," Sofia said. "It's a nice view." She winked at the audience. Someone wanted male sponsors.

"People think little kids don't have a chance. That makes us easy to overlook," Hades said, and I hoped it was true.

"I've been working with throwing needles. They're light and easy to make," Jasmine said.

"Is your heritage going to help you in the wild?" I asked. She stared at me almost flatly, the only trace of emotion being an almost pitying humor.

"I've been trying a lot of stuff. It's harder than it looks," Jacob said.

"I'm sure you've learned a lot," I said.

"I hope so," he said.

"What skills do you have that will help you win the Games?" I asked Zibby.

"I can synthesize carbolic acid from bananas and a can of spray paint," she said. I wasn't sure what carbolic acid was, but it sounded dangerous.

"I'm very grateful for the chance to train," Lyann said. "I hope I can make it worthwhile." _Sounds like you're at a job interview._

"I've been trying to study hard and learn new things, but I've made a little time for leisure," Alistair said. "You all have really good food here."

"I hear you like horses," I said to Mell.

"I'm kind of like horses. I'm beautiful but strong," she said, tossing her hair. Hey, you gotta play yourself up during an interview.

"I need to win so I can take care of my family. I have to make myself useful. I can't end up like my family," Philip said. If he won, I hoped he finally let himself have a break.

"I never thought I'd be in the Games, but at least I have a lot of supporters," Thay said. "Because no one rich has ever died in the Games."

"Thank you for having me," Soya said politely in her turquoise dress and flats. "I'm very happy to be here." What a pleasant child.

"I have a lot of regrets in life," Dayley said. "I wasn't very nice to my old man, for example. I hope I can do things right this time around." _Ah, an orphan. Going for those sympathy sponsors? Well, you deserve them._

"I'm going to do what I have do," Appaloosa said. "You don't start a fight you can't finish. But then, you also have to be smart enough to know when to run."

It was a mixed bag this year. But then, it was always a mixed bag. That was the nature of the Games. I had even less idea than usual who would win this time. Even I would get to be surprised at the end.

* * *

 **Mel was looking for allies, just saying.**


	30. Private Session Report

**I forgot to mention: Jasmine's heritage is Native American. That's why she was like "u kiddin me Caesar"**

* * *

ATTN: TITIAN QIN

PRIVATE SESSION REPORT

THEODORA HARP and Harlequin Marceau

* * *

DISTRICT ONE MALE: CALVIN HARRIS

SKILLS ASSESSMENT: Calvin, as expected, demonstrated weapons skills, favoring daggers and chakram. He was of course competent with both of them. There's not much more to say, really. He's a Career. Normal stuff.

STRENGTHS: Weapon skills, level-headed

WEAKNESSES: Azure has told us that Calvin is philosophical and more anxious than most Careers about killing people.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 15:1 SCORE: 10

NOTES: We've had a lot of Career Victors lately. Seems likely.

* * *

DISTRICT ONE FEMALE: FABLE ANDERS

SKILLS ASSESSMENT: Fable showed spears and traps. She was skilled in both of them, as expected. Her history shows that she was accepted to the Academy on scholarship, indicating great drive and potential.

STRENGTHS: Weapons skills, sociable, sponsor magnet, creativity

WEAKNESSES: Insecure

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 16:1 SCORE: 10

NOTES: I hope this story has a happy ending.

* * *

DISTRICT TWO MALE: DAREN GERARD

SKILLS ASSESSED: Daren used a menagerie of weapons, preferring to show us adaptability rather than focused skills. While it was difficult to assess any one weapon based on the short time he used them, it is clear he is a formidable fighter.

STRENGTHS: Friendly, well-rounded

WEAKNESSES: Lacks the killing drive of most Careers

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Daren has resentment stemming from his illegitimate parentage.

ODDS: 17:1 SCORE: 9

NOTES: I dunno. Seemed underwhelming.

* * *

DISTRICT TWO FEMALE: JESSIE CABELLO

SKILLS ASSESSED: Striking out on her own, Jessie prefers to use a sword, supplementing her weapons skills with admirable agility. She is quick on her feet and obviously knows exactly what she stands to lose.

STRENGTHS: Connections, weapons, practicality

WEAKNESSES: She lacks confidence and does not consider herself a leader

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Jessie's timidity no doubt stems from her abusive upbringing.

ODDS: 14:1 SCORE: 10

NOTES: I'm not supposed to have favorites... _Yeah, that tends to bite you in the butt._

* * *

DISTRICT THREE MALE: TATSUYA HIKARU

SKILLS ASSESSED: Tatsuya divided his time between traps and the haladie. The exotic weapons in the training room are generally shmuck bait, but Tatsuya showed some measure of skill with the weapon. The traps were far more practical and will be more useful.

STRENGTHS: Allies, sponsor magnet, clever

WEAKNESSES: Ostentatious, overconfident

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 24:1 SCORE: 6

NOTES: There's a reason haladie ends in _die._

* * *

DISTRICT THREE FEMALE: JAYLA DEAN

SKILLS ASSESSED: Jayla constructed a number of bombs. Some utilized the supplies provided in the bomb section and others cannibalized the assorted other supplies to show unconventional materials. All the bombs exploded, so they were successful.

STRENGTHS: Bombs

WEAKNESSES: Not bombs

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: The murder of Jayla's girlfriend Veronica Sawyer indicates borderline Borderline tendencies. _Hah, borderline Borderline._ Way to trivialize mental illness, Harley.

ODDS: 25:1 SCORE: 6

NOTES: _She got in trouble for killing her girlfriend but now she can kill twenty-three kids in public no problem! Life is weird._

* * *

DISTRICT FOUR MALE: PATRICK DONEGAL

SKILLS ASSESSED: Patrick recognized the bizarreness of his brother winning the Games with a literal stick and instead opted for a two-handed sword. He did insist that it was an _Irish_ sword, but we could not tell the difference. That is, pardon my Irish, a big-ass sword, though. You could chop a train in half with that thing.

STRENGTHS: Strength, sword stuff, popularity due to legacy

WEAKNESSES: Shane is one of the less popular Four Victors. Patrick also declined to join the volunteer alliance.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 16:1 SCORE: 9

NOTES: That would certainly make history. That would be the first time, right? _Yeah, I think so._

* * *

DISTRICT FOUR FEMALE: AMPHILIA FORTUNE

SKILLS ASSESSED: Amphilia surprised us all by demonstrating survival skills instead of fighting abilities. She did well on things like starting a fire and identifying plants, but she's a volunteer. We expected to see more.

STRENGTHS: Starting a fire, identifying plants.

WEAKNESSES: Fighting, maybe? Also, the score must be modified to express that Amphilia is an illegitimate Four volunteer and thus has little to no support from her disgruntled District.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 18:1 SCORE: 6

NOTES: So you don't like Careers and this drove you to... become one?

* * *

DISTRICT FIVE MALE: TOTEM SWEENEY

SKILLS ASSESSED: Totem used the entire five minutes to spring. As in, non-stop. Guess he's a mutant or something? That was pretty cool. He turned after every lap to point flirtatious finger guns at all the lady Gamemakers. _Do I gotta beat him up? You're MY snuggly muffin._

STRENGTHS: Running

WEAKNESSES: We are in agreement that he's kind of a dumbhead.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Sadly, Totem suffers from a severe developmental disability. It affects only one area- his sexual maturity- but we fear it may be terminal.

ODDS: 19:1 SCORE: 8

NOTES: Boy, Harley doesn't even go that way. And me, I'm just allowed to look. Which I did.

* * *

DISTRICT FIVE FEMALE: LILEI SPARKS

SKILLS ASSESSED: Lilei threw knives. We see a lot of that, but she wasn't obnoxious about it. She had talent, as evidenced by the fact that she hit the target every time. She was no Venus, but that's pretty good for someone who just started.

STRENGTHS: Throwing knives, allies, can advertise herself

WEAKNESSES: Young, small, obviously self-sacrificial

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 28:1 SCORE: 6

NOTES: We don't get outer District volunteers much. Know why? Because of what happens to outer District volunteers.

* * *

DISTRICT SIX MALE: RORY FENDER

SKILLS ASSESSED: Rory did hand-to-hand combat, probably because of his size. He did okay. He wasn't particularly skilled or talented. He also hurled taunts at the sparring partner whenever his blows connected. _Rude._

STRENGTHS: Doesn't care what people think, intimidating size

WEAKNESSES: Big ol' jerk

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Rory has difficulty controlling his anger and has been known to impulsively assault people.

ODDS: 29:1 SCORE: 6

NOTES: Ugh, no.

* * *

DISTRICT SIX FEMALE: SOFIA FERRARI

SKILLS ASSESSED: Sofia elected to throw shuriken. While she obviously had just started during training, she did pretty good. I wouldn't want to rish a shuriken in the eye, so I probably wouldn't attack.

STRENGTHS: Some weapons skills. Can eat bugs.

WEAKNESSES: Isn't very big, doesn't have allies.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 24:1 SCORE: 6

NOTES: What kind of funny accent is that? And what's a "shyooorrrrikahnn"?

* * *

DISTRICT SEVEN MALE: HADES RODRIGUEZ

SKILLS ASSESSED: Hades showed us that he knows plants and animals by putting on a tiny show about the provided plants on the edible plants table. The animals were not provided but he got around this by pretending.

STRENGTHS: Plants and animals, sponsor magnet

WEAKNESSES: Small, young. The usual.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 32:1 SCORE: 5

NOTES: Did you know that about bears? _No, that's pretty cool._

* * *

DISTRICT SEVEN FEMALE: JASMINE ASHENVALE

SKILLS ASSESSED: Jasmine successfully caught one of our hapless assistants in a spring-noose trap and replaced him with a dummy to hit with throwing needles. He was pleased, after seeing her performance, that she used a substitute.

STRENGTHS: Survival stuff, can fight, generally well-rounded, allies

WEAKNESSES: Might be a target

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 18:1 SCORE: 8

NOTES: Oh dear, this isn't your Arena.

* * *

DISTRICT EIGHT MALE: JACOB MORALES

SKILLS ASSESSED: Jacob just sort of did everything. He was okay at most of it. What he lacked in finesse he made up for in enthusiasm.

STRENGTHS: Doing everything okay.

WEAKNESSES: Doing anything excellently.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 24:1 SCORE: 5

NOTES: Wow, I got tired just watching you.

* * *

DISTRICT EIGHT FEMALE: ZIBBY SPOOLEY

SKILLS ASSESSED: Zibby silently launched into mixing chemicals into a vat like an arcane witch. Near the end of her session, she looked up, crowed "guess what can melt glass?" and thew the mixture onto the glass partition separating us from the Tributes. As we dove for cover like rats, the mixture slowly started to bubble and ooze through the glass.

STRENGTHS: Scaring the crap out of people, acid

WEAKNESSES: Scaring Gamemakers!

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Mad scientist

ODDS: We don't even know. X:1 SCORE: 6? We don't know. Just give her average.

NOTES: OMG you gotta warn someone!

* * *

DISTRICT NINE MALE: ALISTAIR BRUCE

SKILLS ASSESSED: Alistair did the obstacle course and threw knives. We liked the obstacle course better because it showed off his buns.

STRENGTHS: Obstacles, knives, buns

WEAKNESSES: Will probably get targeted by the Careers

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 22:1 SCORE: 7

NOTES: Well _we_ hope you last a while. _Meh._

* * *

DISTRICT NINE FEMALE: LYANN LEVETT

SKILLS ASSESSED: Lyann went with plant skills supplemented by knife attacks, seemingly just to show she is willing to kill. She's not amazing or anything, but I think she's got some stuff going.

STRENGTHS: Quietly competent and capable

WEAKNESSES: No particular Victor skills

ODDS: 24:1 SCORE: 5

NOTES: I think people are underestimating you. I think that's what you want.

* * *

DISTRICT TEN MALE: PHILIP KOZLOV

SKILLS ASSESSED: Philip showed us dart skills, but we also know he practiced many other things in training. He was as good as could be expected from an untrained Tribute.

STRENGTHS: Darts, allies

WEAKNESSES: Not very strong allies, anxious, neurotic

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Philip is affected by the addiction that runs in his family. In his case, it's addiction to work.

ODDS: 30:1 SCORE: 4

NOTES: I get that this is the exact time to have a work addiction, but dude... live a little.

* * *

DISTRICT TEN FEMALE: MELISSA HEDLEY

SKILLS ASSESSED: Melissa busted out a crossbow and popped a cap in a bunch of mannequins. We hardly ever get to see the crossbow, so that was cool.

STRENGTHS: Crossbow

WEAKNESSES: Anyone who can use a crossbow is going to be a target.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Melissa passed the extremely rigorous and exacting personality profile and background check needed to receive a firearm in Ten.

ODDS: 18:1 SCORE: 9

NOTES: Yeah! I wanna see a fool get crossbowed!

* * *

DISTRICT ELEVEN MALE: THAY STRIMLING

SKILLS ASSESSED: Thay did a few knife attacks and then focused on different ways to purify water- always an underappreciated skill.

STRENGTHS: Huge sponsor pool, allies, water

WEAKNESSES: He's not really a killer

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 26:1 SCORE: 6

NOTES: A little politician. That's a new one.

* * *

DISTRICT ELEVEN FEMALE: SOYA TORES

SKILLS ASSESSED: Soya generally puttered around doing some essential survival stuff. She started a fire, showed how to purify water, and started to weave thatch.

STRENGTHS: Some allies, basic skills

WEAKNESSES: Small, weak. Her allies are sort of also a weakness.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 35:1 SCORE: 4

NOTES: There's always one, isn't there?

* * *

DISTRICT TWELVE MALE: DAYLEY HARRIS

SKILLS ASSESSED: Dayley started out throwing darts. Then he did a random little dance for us, so that was nice.

STRENGTHS: Darts, dancing

WEAKNESSES: Small, weak, blah blah blah

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Nothing

ODDS: 32:1 SCORE: 4

NOTES: That was a funny little dance. _Girl, that wasn't a dance. Boy dropped a dart into his foot._

* * *

DISTRICT TWELVE FEMALE: APPALOOSA STOCKHOLM

SKILLS ASSESSED: Appaloosa went with unarmed combat. We thought she was being arrogant when she asked for the hardest sparring partner, but she surprised us by demonstrating discretion and evasion by merely holding her own instead of trying to show dominance.

STRENGTHS: Knows her weaknesses, adaptable, fighting skills

WEAKNESSES: Not popular with sponsors, likely a target.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Appaloosa has a considerable police record in Twelve from numerous incidents involving people she considered bullies.

ODDS: 19:1 SCORE: 7

NOTES: Maybe Twelve can actually get two Victors. _Yeah, and then Nine. Fat chance._

* * *

SIGNED,

THEODORA HARP AND HARLEQUIN MARCEAU

CONFIDENTIALITY LEVEL 0

* * *

 **Rundown on scores:**

 **I take anything written in forms. People are usually realistic, and if they're not, that just means people won't like their Tributes and they'll die earlier. If no score is given, I put one that sounds about right. There's an element of unreliable narration because the Gamemakers don't see everything and have biases. Generally I score around like this:**

 **1-4: U suk**

 **5-7: average. Your normal non-Careers**

 **8: some people think this is really good because it was a big deal Rue got one, but I think it was only a big deal because she was young. For me, 8 means a strong outlier.**

 **9-12: Mostly Careers. Sometimes an outlier if they're older and strong.**


	31. Last Hurrah

Dayley Harris- District Twelve male

I'd really been enjoying my time in the Capitol, but on the last night before the Games, I couldn't do anything but worry. I was in the best bed I'd ever slept in, surrounded by everything I could want, and I was terrified. I went over different scenarios in my head, imagining how different Bloodbaths would play out and how different Arenas would affect the first few minutes of gameplay. It all came down to that countdown. What you did in the first seconds decided if you lived or died.

Twelve years wasn't enough. It just wasn't enough. I couldn't make something of myself in that time. I couldn't make right all the things I did wrong. I couldn't become a man and turn into a better father than I was a son. Twelve years wasn't a life. It was just a sample.

When it came time to step into the Arena, I'd be so scared and upset it would all melt together and I wouldn't know what to feel. That would be better than the terror I felt now. The silk sheets were slick with my sweat and the air above the bed was thick and heavy with my panting exhalations. I burrowed under the pillow and pushed the mattress crooked on its frame in my attempt to push so far under the covers that they wouldn't be able to pull me out. My fingers dug trenches in the blankets.

People like people who are cheery. Cheerful people light up a room and the others can take some of that light without having to work for it. They didn't do it on purpose and it didn't take away from my own happiness, but it seemed to me people didn't realize how hard it was to stay happy. It was a decision for me, not something that just happened. I was positive because I decided to be and I worked at it. Before the Games, it was just too much work.

My head pounded from my short, shallow breaths, and I concentrated on taking deep breaths. The Games were coming, but they weren't here yet. Worrying about them wouldn't do anything but get me worked up. What was going to happen would happen whether or not I worried. And there was a good chance that in a few days, I wouldn't regret anything anymore.

* * *

Daren Gerard- District Two male

Fable wasn't sure, at first, that hitting a bar the night before the Games was a good idea. Jessie was too done with life to care, not that that would stop her from putting up a fight and trying to get home. Fable only hesitated because a hangover and a bloodbath don't mix, but this is the Capitol. I was sure they had hangover cures, and one quick question to Pray proved me right.

"I've never even had alcohol before," Jessie said as we walked to the revolving bar on the highest floor. Of course she hadn't. Her father would never let her near something as unhealthy as that.

"It tastes horrible, but it has its upsides," I said.

"Just be careful with the fruity stuff. It's way stronger than it seems," Fable said, and she caught my surprised expression. "My friends thought it was _soooo_ funny to buy their poor scholarship friend who couldn't afford alcohol drinks on girl's night, okay?"

I'd never been in a VIP section before, other than getting picked for the Games, sort of. Being Tributes and thus minor celebrities, we were ushered to a curtained area right by a window and sat down on purple velvet seats.

"I don't know what any of this is," Jessie said as she read a list of cocktails.

"Here, let me help you out," Fable said. "Let's go with two Dirty Bananas."

I didn't care what I drank. I just wanted to have a good time with my allies before at least all but one of us died. When our drinks came, I raised a toast.

"If I bite it in the Arena, tell my mama I loved her," I said.

"Hear, hear," Fable said.

"Eh. Tell him I didn't hate him," Jessie said.

Our Districts probably wouldn't have cared for the way we represented them. My jokes got harder and harder to understand as the night went on, but Jessie thought they got funnier every time. Two Dirty Bananas did way more than they should.

"They don't even taste like alcohol!" she marveled.

"They do when they come back up," Fable said darkly. Jessie thought that was hilarious.

* * *

Hades Rodriguez- District Seven male

"Hey. What you up to?" Paul asked before I went to bed. It was still early.

"Just gonna go to bed, I guess," I said.

"Did you see the menagerie yet? There's some pretty cool stuff there," Paul said.

"No way. There's a menagerie?" I asked. "Let's go!" Paul was a cool mentor. He knew I was going to spend half the night stewing. I was going to be tired either way, so I might as well see a bunch of cool animals.

For some bizarre reason, the menagerie was empty when we got there. Empty of people, anyway- the animals were there. Only a few workers stood around waiting for someone to come. When they saw us, they lit up.

"Hey, it's Hades!" one of them said to another.

"We don't usually get Tributes here," another worker said as he came up to us. "For _you,_ a behind-the-scenes experience. Is there anything in particular you'd like to see?"

"I want to see all of it!" I said.

The menagerie couldn't be very big, of course, since it was only one room in a giant building. There wasn't room for elephants or anything like that, but there were a lot of smaller animals. There was a pool of otters that the workers let me wade into and a giant owl that sat on my arm. Then we moved to the insect section.

"Most people skip this part," the worker said. "A lot of them are scared, but there's nothing to be scared of. Maria is perfectly nice."

Maria was a red-kneed tarantula. The worker gently lifted her out of her enclosure and she crept up along his arm like she wanted to say hello.

"Want to hold her?" the worker asked.

"Yes!" I said. I held my hand still as the worker lowered Maria onto it slowly. Her legs were furry and she was lighter than I expected. It tickled when she moved.

"She is nice," I said. She wasn't scary at all.

* * *

 **Here we have the chapter where I put in some POVs of people who are going to die soon and need one last blast and some red herrings to freak everyone out. Up next are two easy chapters- the tubes and the countdown- and then it's the Bloodbath!**


	32. Into the Tubes

Blake Armani, District One mentor

Fable and Calvin didn't need any help from me. A Career mentor's job was pretty easy. I just helped out with sponsors and things like that, but these two wouldn't have any trouble. The only thing left was to win, and only they could do that.

* * *

Avariella Hanson, District Two mentor

I hoped Jessie and Daren could leave behind what others thought of them. That was something I understood too well. I should have been more focused on them winning, but there were some lives that weren't worth living.

* * *

Acee Hal, District Three mentor

Jayla was breathing fast and shallow. Her hands were shaking and her eyes were big. Tatsuya was giggling maniacally. They weren't panicking, though. They were just nervous. Nothing surprising about that.

* * *

Shane Donegal, District Four mentor

"It's going to be okay. I got this. I'll stay away from the Careers and I won't pick fights. Don't worry."

It didn't matter how many times he said it. I was still going to worry, just like he worried when I was in the Games.

* * *

Careen Ellis, District Four mentor

I didn't really know what to do with Amphilia. She wasn't the chosen volunteer, and that put me off. Nymph _was_ a maniac, though. And it rubbed me the wrong way to wish someone would die. Which was kind of funny, since I'd killed multiple people.

* * *

Sky Levings, District Five mentor

Weirder things have happened. I had no business winning my Games, so it wasn't curtains for Lilei yet. Two of Six's three Victors got there by basically doing nothing. The Games were the great equalizer. Lilei had a chance like everyone else.

* * *

Erwin Jackson, District Five mentor

Totem was going to do what Totem was going to do. Deep down, I thought he wasn't the sharpest tack, but that was a good thing. There are a lot of things in the Games it's better to not know. I wasn't a genius myself, but I knew too much.

* * *

Lancia Audren, District Six mentor

I probably wasn't supposed to have favorites. Well stick it in your pipe and smoke it, because I did have favorites. Who was I going to like more? The guy who literally almost cut a dude's tongue out, or the girl who liked cars and had an accent that made everything sound like a song? Team Sofia. Sorry not sorry.

* * *

Sequoia Wilson, District Seven mentor

Hades was a bundle of energy, telling me all about the animals he saw. I, for one, wasn't about to touch no nasty spider, but to each their own. Jasmine was more stoic, as I expected. She was the one who had a chance. She could afford to hope.

* * *

Tillo Peters, District Eight mentor

I couldn't help Zibby even if I tried. She was twice as smart as I was. I could only help with social presence, and I wasn't really good at that... at all. Jacob at least had the presence down. He wasn't great at anything, but I wasn't either when I won.

* * *

Nassor Doyle, District Nine mentor

I didn't really feel qualified to assess my mentees. I wasn't an expert on these things. I didn't know all the ways to win the Games. I only knew one. Lyann and Alistair had their own ways to win. They had to find them on their own.

* * *

Bambi Kirkland, District Ten mentor

The launch room was perfectly clean, so there was nothing for Philip to clean or fuss over. He stood in the tube wringing his hands until a puff of air signaled it was about to shut.

"So, uh... do good," I said. _Nailed it._

* * *

Calvary Warsaw, District Ten mentor

I'd never seen a non-Peacekeeper who had touched a gun before. Mel must have been some woman. She had everything she needed to win the Games. There were always a few Tributes who did. The finishing element was luck. I didn't know who had that yet.

* * *

Frankie Disney, District Eleven mentor

Soya didn't have much chance, but it could happen. Anything _could_ happen. Thay was a little better off, at least. I didn't know much about politics or being rich. He had some good allies around him. He was putting on a brave face, like a true politician.

* * *

Nubu Sanders, District Twelve mentor

It was strange I'd had so many young mentees. Almost everyone in Twelve took tesserae. Dayley was trying not to look scared because he didn't want to upset me. I was trying not to look sad because I didn't want to upset him. Appaloosa actually wasn't upset or scared, or at least she hid it the best of us.


	33. Countdown

Jasmine Ashenvale- District Seven female

It took a long time for the hovercraft to get wherever the tube room was. Or it seemed like a long time. I didn't know how long it took for the other Games. The air was cold as the tube rose. It was salty, too- it stung my eyes a little. The open night sky implied an outdoor Arena, but when the tube got to the top, I saw I was only half right.

 _59, 58, 57..._

* * *

Tatsuya Hikaru- District Three male

We were on a boat. A big, giant boat. I'd never seen such a big boat. Maybe they had them in the Capitol, but this was a _big boat._ The deck had a wooden floor and there were four huge smokestacks lining the middle. There were a few lifeboats against the outer wall and a bunch of lawn chairs under a deck canopy, which also held all the supplies and weapons. _That's a new one._

 _50, 49, 48..._

* * *

Lyann Levett- District Nine female

I looked over the side, hoping land was close by, not that I could swim. There was nothing but ocean as far as I could see. Nothing but a starry night sky and water. On the other side of the ersatz Cornucopia, there was a staircase going down. I looked behind me and saw another one, farther away but in the opposite direction of the Careers. I pointed it out to Thay and Totem.

 _44, 43, 42..._

* * *

Mel Hedley- District Ten female

There was a crossbow in the Cornucopia. They put it close to my platform to see if they could get me to run in. The circle of platforms was much smaller than usual, since the boat was only so wide. It was so close. I could get a weapon right away, or I could die right away. I had half a minute to decide.

 _38, 37, 36..._

* * *

Fable Enders- District One female

There was a staircase behind me and a staircase across from me, behind Jessie. I caught her eye and pointed to one staircase after another. I made a choking motion and she squinted, then nodded when she caught on.

 _29, 28, 27..._

* * *

Zibby Spooley- District Eight female

I didn't need anything from the Cornucopia. On a ship, there would be all sorts of materials for whatever I wanted to make. I just had to get to the staircase. I found Tatsuya and pointed to one of the staircases. It didn't matter if the Careers knew where we were going. We only had two options.

 _17, 16, 15..._

* * *

Soya Tores- District Eleven female

I got lucky. I was between Jayla and Mel. Neither of them was out to get me. Mel would go for the crossbow and Jayla would probably run. Lilei was only three platforms down. We looked at each other and I knew we were running straight at each other the second the gong sounded.

 _8, 7, 6..._

* * *

Thay Strimling- District Eleven male

It would all come down to running. Totem was in luck. Not so much me. Waiters don't do much running. We walk briskly, but running is a good way to dump soup on someone. Oh well. Let the soup hit the floor.

 _5, 4, 3, 2, 1..._

* * *

 **Ta-da! It's the Titanic! If you also had that Titanic phase lots of kids had, you already knew, since _A Night To Remember_ is the definitive account. For those expecting _Titanic_ references, there probably won't be many, since I haven't seen it. I _have_ seen _A Night To Remember,_ since there was a movie shortly after the very famous at its time book was written.**

 **Stats: The Titanic is 882 feet long and, like, pretty wide? I'm bad with scale, but I think people can hide in that.**


	34. BLOODBATH!

Sofia Ferrari- District Six female

I didn't want to hear anyone scream. When the Games started, I ran for the nearest staircase. If I got out of sight, I wouldn't have to see it. Pounding feet thudded on the deck as the others ran in or away.

As I was running, I felt something punch me in the back. I tripped forward and stopped sharply as the javelin in my chest hit the deck. I was never going to win, but this way, I didn't have to hear anyone scream.

* * *

Lyann Levett- District Nine female

As soon as the Games started, Jessie and Fable ran in opposite directions, away from the Cornucopia. Daren looked at them in confusion for a heartbeat, then smiled in understanding.

I also understood, and it wasn't good. There were two staircases leading down away from the exposed upper deck. Jessie would guard one and Fable would guard the other, killing anyone who tried to get away. Daren would mop up the ones who went into the Cornucopia.

Jessie and Fable stopped only a second, to grab weapons. I was running to Fable's staircase, and we were both coming in at an angle. It was going to be horribly close. I leaned forward and urged myself to go faster.

Fable and I reached the staircase only a step apart. As she started to slow down and turn, I launched myself into the air and sailed past her, straight into the open staircase. I landed hard on my shoulder on the wood stairs, rolling and tumbling to the bottom. I rolled an extra few feet out of sight before I stood and bolted down the hall, leaving Fable to all the others who weren't fast enough.

* * *

Rory Fender- District Six male

I wanted some of those supplies. We were on a luxurious-looking ship, but this was the Games. It could have been empty inside for all we knew. At the very least, I'd need some food eventually. I set my sights on a sack of cans and ran in.

As I bent to pick up the sack, someone knocked me over from the side. I looked up to see Calvin grab a mace from a table and swing it down at me. I had but one regret: that I didn't eat more and flirt with more girls.

* * *

Amphilia Fortune- District Four female

I didn't go for tridents like most Four Tributes. I liked the hitting and throwing power that came from twin hatchets. When I ran into the Cornucopia, I got my weapons without harassment. No one but a Career would attack a Career, right? And I wasn't the one getting attacked.

I threw both hatchets as soon as I picked them up. Jessie screamed as one pinned her hand to the wall beside the staircase. The other sank into the side of Daren's head.

 _Filthy Careers. I volunteered, but we're nothing alike._

* * *

Daren Gerard- District Two male

I never saw the axe coming. One minute I was running after Tatsuya, the next I was lying on my side with blood bubbling up in my mouth.

Two always did say I was a disgrace. I could see it in their eyes even as they told me I was doing so well. Amphilia didn't do it because I was a bastard, though. She didn't even know, and if she'd known, she wouldn't have cared. For better or for worse, she saw me as equal to any other Career.

* * *

Jacob Morales- District Eight male

I may have thought highly of myself, but I wasn't so cocky as to think I could go into the Cornucopia and come out alive. I ran away blindly, not even thinking about where I was going.

 _Where do I go?_ I scanned the boat and tried to make a plan as I went. My eyes fell across a staircase and the light bulb went off in my head.

The light bulb must have gone off in a few other Tributes' heads as well. Appaloosa and Thay streaked ahead of me, disappearing down the staircase. Someone else also reached it ahead of me, but she didn't descend.

 _Oh crap._ Fable stopped in the middle of the stairwell and turned around, spear pointing out. I stopped suddenly and almost fell on my butt trying not to impale myself. As I scooted back like a crab, she cocked her leg back and kicked me in the crotch. While I was still reacting, she stabbed me through the chest.

 _I wasn't first, anyway. Could have been worse._

* * *

Soya Tores- District Eleven female

Lilei and I held hands as we ran toward the stairs. I didn't even know where Philip was, but I hoped he saw where we were going.

We weren't fast enough. Jessie reached the stairs ahead of us and cut Dayley down as he tried to run past her. I heard his body thump as he fell down the stairs. Lilei and I jerked to a stop and looked around frantically for somewhere else to go.

"Aieeee!"

Jessie screamed when a hatchet flew into her hand, pinning it to the wall beside the staircase. Lilei immediately darted past her and vanished down the stairs. I tried to follow, but Jessie wasn't having it. She grabbed my hair and smashed me face-first into the wall. I slid to the floor, dazed. She took her sword one-handed and stuck it down into me. She barely had the angle with one hand. Gravity did the rest.

My mother was wrong about the Games. No one deserved it. I had my own flaws, but I didn't deserve it either. I was glad Lilei made it past. I hoped she won.

* * *

Dayley Harrvis- District Twelve male

Jessie caught me before I even reached the stairs. She slashed her sword across my stomach. It was actually kind of cool to see my intestines unspool as I fell down the stairs. I just really hoped no one tripped over them. Luckily I died before that happened.

* * *

 **Someone asked if I was going to post this now and I was like "ha ha suckers no I'll post it next week". JK here it is.**

 **24th place: Sofia Ferrari- Hit with Daren's javelin**

 **Sofia's form said it was okay to use her in the Bloodbath (that was actually her preferred death) so I did. If it had been an outdoor Arena, I would have left her so she could eat some bugs. That's so underused. Sofia was super nice, so it was easier for her to go early. She had a cool accent that I was sadly asked not to render in Mario speak and therefore did not. Thanks-a a lotta for her, MRKenn-a.**

 **23rd place: Rory Fender- maced by Calvin**

 **Rory was mean and he was a late addition so I could start the Reapings. I'm sure we all knew this was coming. Thanks Everlastingimpression for giving me someone so I could stop being impatient.**

 **22nd place: Daren Gerard- Axed by Amphilia**

 **Daren defied easy pigeonholing, which made him harder but more realistic to write. I always thought it was stupid to pick on a dude for his parentage. Like, I was really little when I was born. I wasn't consulted. I thought it would be cool to have an early Career death and picked Daren because he was the one I least didn't want to kill. He had a lot of facets, though. Joker, Career, bitter, friendly... corpse. Thanks Loki for all those things.**

 **21st place: Jacob Morales- Stabbed by Fable**

 **Jacob was a REALLY late addition Caleb whipped up really quick for me. As a result, his form was really bare. Thanks for having my back, Caleb, and thanks for being so quick. Next time, when you have more time to develop, things will be different.**

 **20th place: Soya Tores- Stabbed by Jessie**

 **I wanted more deaths because that's how it probably would be with Careers guarding all the exits. I picked Soya because I had a lot of dead boys and not so many girls. I would have had Soya last longer but I just needed to kill someone. She really grew and matured over her few days in the Capitol, and she would have become a lovely woman if she'd had a chance. Thanks ItsaCatsWorld for actually making someone with real flaws but also redeeming qualities.**


	35. That's Gonna Leave a Mark

**I forgot Dayley! No lie, it was because my little sisters wanted to use my computer to watch Survivor and I was frantically finishing the chapter.**

 **19th place: Dayley Harrvis**

 **First off, sorry for all the times I goofed by writing HARRIS. Anyway, Dayley was a fun dude. He had a lot of inner conflict and hidden depths under his sunny exterior, making him more than another cute young Tribute. I expressly didn't want to kill all the young Tributes early this time, but I did kill some of them. Mostly I just needed more kills for a normal-sized Bloodbath. Dayley wasn't going to win, so I just did it now. I forgot to write down who sent Dayley, but thanks! He was tight.**

* * *

Jessie Cabello- District Two female

Nothing went as planned during the Bloodbath. In less than a minute, half the Tributes were hidden in the bowels of the ship, Daren was dead, and I had an axe in my hand. We got a respectable amount of competition eliminated, but the rest could be anywhere. The boat wasn't as big as most Arenas, but there were endless places to hide. While we searched one room, our quarries could sneak to another one. No one would die from exposure, and if there was water, no one would dehydrate. This was going to be a waiting game.

Before that, it was going to be a healing game. The others had even more time to hide, because Fable and I couldn't go anywhere until we got me stable. Fable could, maybe, but she was my friend. She wasn't going to leave me bleeding and broken.

"Ready?" Fable asked, bracing a foot against the wall and holding onto the axe with both hands as I held a bandage pad in my free hand, waiting to clamp it onto the wound when Fable pulled.

"One, two, _three!"_

Pulling the axe out didn't hurt, which really scared me. My hand, which had been pinned at the level of my head, was white and numb. It wasn't getting any blood, which was good for my blood supply but bad for my hand. I was in shock, even if it was only mild. I stuck the pad onto my hand and sat down as Fable wound strips of bandage around it.

"Wow, it went all the way through. Doesn't it hurt?" she asked.

"Not really. That's worse, though," I said.

"Can you move it?" she asked. I tentatively moved my fingers.

"Yeah, but I think I'd better not," I said. I could imagine a nearly-severed nerve held by a thread and just waiting for a sudden move to snap it.

"Hope this stuff works as well as they say," Fable said, indicating the medicated gauze and the cream we'd spread on the bandages.

I started to shiver, even though I wasn't cold. Fable noticed it and hugged me.

"You're all shaky. Let's just stay here awhile and not move," she said.

"What about all the other Tributes?" I asked.

"It's not like they're going to go anywhere."

* * *

Philip Kozlov- District Ten male

There were only two staircases to go down, so it wasn't hard to find my allies. I actually went down the other staircase than they did, but I saw Lilei running away from me down one of the narrow hallways.

"Lilei! Wait up!" I called. She looked over her shoulder, saw me, and ducked into a side room so the Careers couldn't hit her with ranged weapons. I ran in after her.

"Where- wow, what is this?" I asked. We were in a luxuriously furnished bedroom with a solid wood bed, paneled and carved walls, a porthole showing the ocean, and a table with four chairs. I looked back at Lilei just as she burst into tears.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "And where's Soya?" I answered my own question.

"She's dead!" Lilei wailed. "Jessie got hit with an axe and I ran past her. I thought Soya was behind me, but I looked over my shoulder and saw Jessie holding her hair." she hid her face in her hands.

"Jessie has an axe in her hand?" I asked. Lilei nodded.

"Then she can't move. And Daren's dead- I saw it. Jessie can't move, Daren's dead, and Fable won't leave Jessie. This is our chance," I said. I took Lilei's arm. "I know this is awful, but we have to go right now."

"Where?" Lilei asked.

"Once the Careers start moving, they're going to start looking for one thing: the kitchen. That's the only place with any food. As soon as they find it, no one else will be able to get any food. We have to get there now, before they do," I said.

"All right. Let's go," Lilei said. Like me, she wanted to have something to do. Anything to keep our minds off what just happened.

* * *

Lyann Levett- District Nine female

I knew my way around rich people places. As soon as I got below the deck, I had a feel for where things were in the ship. There were servants' areas and passenger areas. In a darkly appropriate twist, I wanted the servant areas. The servant pathways would lead to rooms servants stayed in, like the kitchen.

Everyone needed food, and the Careers knew it. They were going to head to the kitchen too, and once they got there, it would be theirs. Anyone who wanted food had to get there first.

My shoulder hurt like a son of a gun as I entered the kitchen. Once I got supplies and found somewhere to stay I'd take care of it. In the meantime, the kitchen was even bigger than I expected. There were rows of cast iron stoves and a huge island in the center of the room. Cabinets and containers lined one wall, and that was where I headed.

I wanted food that was easy to carry, heavy in calories, and non-perishable. I rifled through the cabinets until I found one filled with sausages, which I grabbed by the fistful. I emptied a sack of potatoes and stuffed the sausages in, as well as boxes of hard crackers. I was looking for a bottle for water when I saw two figures entering the room. I grabbed a cast iron pan off a nearby cooktop and held it like a baseball bat, making my shoulder ache.

Philip and Lilei looked back at me nervously. There was a moment of tension, and then we went on with our business. Philip and Lilei started filling a sack with supplies and we moved around each other in the kitchen. It felt almost homey, like we were three cooks enjoying a day at work.

"Good luck, I guess," I said as I left.

"You too," Lilei said. I went down the hall on the other side of the kitchen until I found another staircase. I went down, since most people instinctively went up. Down was probably third class, and then the crew decks. The Careers wouldn't want to go there.

* * *

 **Bloodbath POVs aren't counted for Tribute POV counts since they're short. Hence Lyann is in two in a row. She just seemed like an appropriate one to find the kitchen and meet other Tributes without fighting. This one does count as a POV.**


	36. Class Warfare

Tatsuya Hikaru- District Three male

"Let's keep going down," Zibby said when we approached another staircase inside the ship.

"Why?" I asked.

"Down at the bottom will be the guts and the boilers and stuff," Zibby said. "Lots of useful stuff there."

"All right. Sounds like a plan."

We'd both gotten out of the Bloodbath unscathed by virtue of our platforms being closer to the staircase than Fable's. We went down three more flights of stairs and came out in a stark, unadorned environment.

"Yeah, this is probably a crew area," I said. The ship in general seemed to be more a cruise ship, but this floor was completely industrial. Even the last flight of stairs was metal instead of wood.

Ahead of us, there were rows of simple white doors. One double set of doors stood in the middle of the hall. We went inside and came out on a deck standing over a huge pit filled with giant machines.

"Those are the boilers," Zibby said. She shot down the ladder and picked up a black lump from a pile next to one of the machines. "They run on coal. Guess we have enough fuel for... forever."

"What are you going to do with it?" I asked.

"I don't know. I'll figure something out," she said.

"Are we just going to stay here?" I asked.

Zibby walked down the line, peering into the boilers. "This one's an extra," she said. "We can stay in here."

"Inside the boiler?" I asked.

"We can't stay in the cabins. People will look there," Zibby said.

"Yeah, no kidding," I said. I looked inside the boiler. It was empty inside- just a big, round shell of metal. The other boilers made the room warm enough to not need blankets. If we found some food and brought it back, we might have something. I ducked inside the boiler and ran a finger through the soot that coated the interior.

 _HOME SWEET HOME_

* * *

Jasmine Ashenvale- District Seven female

With Amphilia as an ally, I was able to take what I wanted from the Cornucopia. I swooped up a set of throwing needles and ignored the trap supplies. I didn't need to risk my life over ropes. I was in a giant cruise ship. There would be rope somewhere.

"So, you totally wasted Daren," I said as we roamed the halls, looking for a place to set up.

"I don't like Careers," she said.

"Good thing I'm not a Career," I said. "Do you like allies?"

"I don't like Careers, but I'm not so dumb I think I can take them all on in some righteous war," Amphilia said. "You're never going to feel safe with me, I'm sure, but you can know that it just wouldn't make sense for me to do anything until all the Career pairs are gone."

 _Got it. As soon as Fable or Jessie bites it, run._

"You seem to know exactly where you're going. Have you seen this ship before?" I asked Amphilia as she confidently strode through the ship.

"We have cruise ships like this in Four for tourists," she said. "I've never sailed on one, but boats are pretty similar. The top is first class, the middle is second class, and third class is the bottom."

"I guess we probably shouldn't camp in first class," I said. The Careers would take that prime real estate.

"Yeah, and third class will be the weaker Tributes trying to hide," Amphilia said, stopping by a staircase. "Second class sound good to you?"

"In this boat it's probably better than my actual house," I said.

It _was_ better than my house. The second class cabin we entered had a couch on one side, a pair of sinks in the middle, and two bunk beds on the other side. Everything was _very_ nice solid wood.

"Hey, we got water," I said when I turned on one of the taps. Food wasn't really a problem. We'd keep an eye out, but we could go two days without food easy, and we'd find it by then.

"Shotgun," Amphilia said, claiming the bottom bunk. Throwing needles were fine from either bed, and Amphilia wanted to be able to jump right up and start fighting if she had to.

"Hey. Think we can move that couch?" I asked. A quick check showed that it wasn't bolted to the wall. It was just solid, heavy wood. If we got that thing in front of the door, _no one_ would be giving us trouble.

* * *

Totem Sweeney- District Five male

Thay and I found each other right away in the Bloodbath. I saw Lyann running toward the other staircase, but I didn't have time to flag her down. By the time we got to safety, she was long gone.

"Where do you think she went?" Thay asked.

"The kitchen," I said immediately.

"Genius," Thay said. "Where's the kitchen, though?"

"That's your job. You're the waiter," I said.

As it turned out, Thay really _did_ know how to find the kitchen. It was like he and Lyann had some special sense that went right over my head.

"She's not here. But she was," he said when we got there. The kitchen had been ransacked. That meant Lyann wasn't the only one, since she would have left it neat. We both grabbed some food all the same, even though Lyann already got all the good stuff.

"What was that?" Thay asked, looking behind us at the door. A creaking stair let us know that someone was coming. We had to assume the worst- that it was a Career, or more likely two of them. We crept out the other side and hid around the corner before whoever it was saw us. I could hear the person- it sounded like just one- opening cabinets and moving things.

"Which way do you think she went after this?" Thay asked.

I facepalmed. "Oh man, this is so horrible."

"What?" Thay asked.

"This is so rude. She was a servant, right? She probably went down to the servants' floors. It would be more familiar," I said.

"That _is_ mean. But probably right," Thay said. We went farther along until we found a staircase and took it down.

"She's probably in one of the rooms," I said, looking down the hall.

"Which one, though?" Thay asked.

"Thay! Totem!" someone whispered from the first room down the hall. Lyann's head poked out. We followed her into the cabin and she shut the door.

"We found you!" I said.

"Why weren't you further down?" Thay asked.

"I thought you'd look down here because it's the poor people section," Lyann said. "And I stayed near the stair because I knew I'd hear you coming." Girl had us pegged.

* * *

 **No one else died yet! Since Jessie currently has a messed-up hand, Fable is helping with said messed-up hand, and no one else really wants to kill people.**


	37. Literal Kurgan

Lancia Audren, District Six mentor

I never knew it would be this hard. The mentors that came before me certainly showed how stressful the job was, but I wasn't like that. I was older than Toby when I won, and my childhood wasn't like Lena's. I wanted to chalk it up to my mentees not being up to snuff and getting themselves killed, but I wasn't fooling anyone, least of all myself.

* * *

District Six

Sofia and Rory were opposite sides of the spectrum. Sofia was missed by everyone, and Rory was missed by... Rosen. Reckon, meanwhile, very quietly and politely threw a party.

* * *

 **DAREN GERARD-** Jessie Cabello

I didn't think it would happen like that. One minute he was joking around, helping me back to my room when I could barely walk, and the next minute he was dead. Life was as simple and start as turning off a light. I would never understand how some people valued it so little.

* * *

 **SOFIA FERRARI-** Hades Rodriguez

I remembered her from training. She was really pretty, and she talked pretty, too. I was hoping the people my age would last longer. Being the last young Tribute wasn't a good sign.

* * *

 **RORY FENDER-** Calvin Harris

I tried to kill the person I would feel the least guilty about. I didn't know how I would feel about killing someone until I actually did it. In the end, it didn't matter who it was. I felt terrible. My District deserved all the riches I'd bring home for them, but it wouldn't make up for what I did.

* * *

 **JACOB MORALES-** Zibby Spooly

 _Oh, my partner's dead._ I hadn't known him, but he seemed like a nice guy. Honestly, I didn't care as much as I might have. I had the intellectual knowledge that killing was bad, but it was hard to really feel anything about someone I hardly knew. _Sorry, dude._

* * *

 **SOYA TORES-** Lilei Sparks

Philip and I squished together into one bed that first night. We were scared and alone and we just wanted someone else to be there. We held on even tighter when Soya's face showed up on the ceiling. She was scared and alone too when she died.

* * *

 **DAYLEY HARRVIS-** Appaloosa Stockholm

Maybe I should have allied with the little squirt. I didn't need dead weight, but I didn't like watching kids die, either. Dayley should have been at home running around and getting milk mustaches. He shouldn't be dead on a ship hundreds of miles from home. Our entire country was run by bullies.

* * *

Mell Hedley- District Ten female

It couldn't have gone better. When the Games started, I ran in for the crossbow. I scooped it up and started running. My chances weren't the best, but sometimes you have to go big or go home. Daren saw me and looked up, but then an axe nailed him in the side of the head. I ran back out of the danger zone and saw both staircases were blocked. I didn't have any time to make a plan, so I just acted. I ran alongside the edge of the ship toward one of the huge smokestacks. The only Career who used a ranged weapon was Amphilia, and she had her hands full, so I was able to duck behind the smokestack. If I couldn't get down the steps, I'd just stay on the top deck. There were plenty of places to hide.

I'd been on the top deck ever since. I waited until Jessie and Fable went after the others, and then I had the top to myself, as far as I knew. I expected Fable and Jessie would come back to the Cornucopia eventually, even though they'd taken the supplies they wanted and tossed most of the rest overboard. I crouched behind a lifeboat across from one of the staircases and waited, hoping to ambush them, shoot the first to come out, and run while the other was still getting around the body. But they didn't come back at all, not all night.

 _They're not coming back,_ I conceded. At least not for a long time. I checked the ransacked Cornucopia for anything I could use. I took a sheet of plastic I could use to catch rainwater and a single water pouch they'd overlooked in a pile of debris. A new plan started to come together.

Even if they weren't coming back for a long time, that didn't mean I should rush down into the narrow staircase and get myself killed. Instead I would get to high ground on the top deck- the ladder on one of the smokestacks, maybe- and set up a sniper hideout. If it rained at all, I could keep myself going for maybe a week, and by then the playing field would be narrower.

I started toward the nearest smokestack. As I reached the end of one of the raised pavilions that dotted the top deck, I saw someone poking around an overturned lifeboat. I ducked out of sight beside the wall and loaded my crossbow.

* * *

Patrick Donegal- District Four male

I didn't want to take my chances with Fable or Jessie. They were both strong, and I'd made enough risky decisions already. I'd just stay on the top deck, hopefully finding some supplies somewhere and staying away from the others. I had most of Four's support, since I was the only chosen volunteer. They might send me some stuff. In the meantime, I had my sword and a backpack, which had a bottle of water and two MREs.

It was hard to tell what tipped me off that I was being hunted. There might have been the tiniest noise from an arrow nock ticking onto a bowstring, or maybe it was just that sixth sense some Victors swear by. In either case, I looked up suddenly and turned around to see Mell peeking around a corner.

There was no time to run. I threw up both arms, still holding my sword. The arrow that otherwise would have gone straight into my head went through my left arm instead. It felt like nothing more than a forceful poke. My pounding heart and the tightness in my chest evidenced the adrenaline that flooded me as soon as I saw Mell.

Mell saw that she'd missed the kill shot and lowered her bow an inch. She knew I had to go after her. If I let her go, she'd find high ground and snipe me at her leisure. She disappeared around the corner as I charged toward her.

When I rounded the corner, she was ahead of me but still in sight. She was heading for the nearer staircase. If I'd let her go, she might not have come back. But she might have, and I couldn't take that risk. I could risk my own life, but I couldn't do that to Shane. I picked up one of the folding wooden deck chairs clustered under a canopy and slung it like a discus at her feet. She fell forward heavily and landed flat on the deck. She flipped over like a cat and jumped up, turning toward me. She couldn't get away anymore. We were too close, and she'd lost her momentum. She grabbed another arrow, even though she couldn't load fast enough. She held it out at me like a spear.

I held my sword in both hands as I reached her, even if one was injured. It punched through her chest like paper and shoved her back when the hilt met her skin. I pushed it even further, forcing her feet up off the ground until she dangled over me. I didn't even hear the cannon sound, not that it mattered. I lowered the sword and she slid off it, thumping onto the deck. Then I dropped my sword, since I finally remembered I'd been shot.

* * *

 **18th place: Mell Hedley- Impaled by Patrick**

 **This is the one time where having a ranged weapon might be not so great. On a cruise ship, it's hard to get a long shot. Mell's early death does not mean she wasn't a strong Tribute. I shook things up and had her die early exactly because it would be surprising. Now you know how she (and Patrick) escaped the Bloodbath. Everyone else either got to the stairs faster than the Careers or died. Anyway, Mel was really cool. It was cool to have someone with firearms experience, and had it been a different Arena and a different batch of Tributes, she might have won. Patrick's not going to forget that crossbow bolt in his arm again, that's for sure. Thanks Josh for one of the more unique without being overly quirky Tributes I've gotten.**

 **A few unanswered questions answered:**

 **How did they get to the top deck? I didn't really make a good answer. The tubes went all the way up and then somehow went back down without leaving a huge hole in the ship...**

 **Is sleeping in a boiler a bad idea? Normally yeah. Honestly it's a reference to The Navigator, a silent film with my favorite actor Buster Keaton. It was set in a ship like this one so I used it for reference. Cool though it would be, it shall not spontaneously turn on and incinerate Zibby and Tatsuya.**

 **Why the weird title? Because you'd have to be the literal Kurgan to lift someone over your head with a two-handed sword. Patrick is not the literal Kurgan and will not be showing this superhuman strength in general. It was just a really cool image so I put it in. He _will_ be showing the effects of his injury. He was just all hopped up on adrenaline.**


	38. Tangled

Calvin Heidi- District One male

I killed a boy. I took a mace and I hit him so hard his brains splattered my face. As soon as I did it, I regretted it. I fled the Cornucopia, taking nothing but the backpack I'd already grabbed. I fled the sound of screams and fighting and threw myself underneath an overturned lifeboat on the other side of the ship. My stomach heaved, and I vomited onto the deck.

When the screaming quieted, I peeked out from under the boat. Fable and Jessie were sitting in the Cornucopia bandaging Jessie's hand. Everyone else was gone or dead. I stayed still as I watched them, willing them to go back down the stairs instead of coming toward me. I couldn't fight them both at once. As soon as they disappeared, I left my boat to find another spot. I couldn't stay there anymore. The smell would give me away.

I had hoped things would be better in daylight, but they weren't. No matter how much time went by, I would still be a murderer. You didn't go back from something like that. I had my choice, and I made it. I would never be a good person again.

 _There's only one thing left now,_ I thought. _I have to win._ The bridge was burned, and I couldn't undo that. I didn't have anything to lose anymore. I didn't know if I could kill anyone else, but I was still human. Painfully human, even. If someone attacked me, I'd still fight back. I still didn't want to die. But more than that, I wanted to win so it would be worth it. Winning wouldn't make what I did right, but it would mean something good came of it. My District would benefit, even if I'd never be whole again.

I needed to get below deck. There would be a kitchen down there. I didn't need food- there was food and water in my bag- but there would be weapons. There would be kitchen knives and all sorts of things that could kill someone. Even as I thought it, I realized how hypocritical it was. I was beating myself for being a killer, but I didn't feel safe without a weapon. When society's not there to keep people in line, maybe we really aren't anything more than animals.

* * *

Appaloosa Stockholm- District Twelve female

My backpack had water, a first aid kit, and a multitool. What it didn't have was food, and I would need some eventually. In such an ornate Arena with so many hiding places, we could be here for weeks. People lived that long without food, but my biggest strength was... strength, and that would fade if I didn't eat.

I waited a day and a half in a broom closet before I looked for the kitchen. I wanted to make sure anyone else who wanted to go there had already gone. I didn't go looking for trouble. I just ended it when I found it. They could all have whatever they wanted. I'd take what I got, even if I had to live off butter for the entire Games.

The Arena was horribly claustrophobic. I was used to woods and open spaces. Even the woods were more open than this. It was like being in jail all over again. There wasn't much choice between fight or flight here. Down the narrow, long halls, I wouldn't be able to do much against a spear. It was fight or die this time. Against anyone but the Careers, I had a good chance. Jessie and Fable showed up... at least they used swords. Those were heavy to carry as you chased someone.

I didn't think it would hit me so hard that Dayley was dead. He just didn't deserve it, that was all. Dayley, Sofia, Soya, Jacob... they didn't deserve it. Daren and Rory could suck it. I felt like a sissy caring so much, but that was something you _should_ care about, even if you _were_ a big scary bully-fighter.

None of the Careers were in the kitchen when I got in. Jayla was, though. She was bent over one of the gas burners on a stove, fiddling with something. I was still deciding what to do when she made the first move. My first instinct was always to fight, and I knew I could take her, but I wasn't sure I wanted to kill someone who wasn't really a threat. She solved that problem when she threw acid in my face.

* * *

JD Dean- District Three female

A kitchen is basically a chemical lab. I could get anything I needed for a bomb there. I'd just finished stripping a refrigerator battery for acid when I got a better idea. A natural gas stovetop connected to... a natural gas tank. If I stopped up one of the burners, turned on the gas, and rigged a fuse across the doorway, I could blow whoever came after me to kingdom come.

That plan was interrupted when Appaloosa walked through the door. Even if I didn't know her personally, I knew her reputation. Rumor was she ran around beating anyone up she didn't like. Even if the rumors weren't true, this was the Hunger Games. She was on her worst behavior, not her best. I took the battery acid I'd drained into a glass and threw it at her face.

Battery acid isn't as strong as some people think. I didn't intend to melt Appaloosa's face off- just to sting her eyes and get away. She must have thought I was coming in for the kill, because she ran in after me. Her reflexively raised arm had prevented most of the acid from reaching her eyes, and she ran across the crowded kitchen horribly quickly.

I tried to turn on the burner, hoping the small buildup of gas would make a flare and cover my escape, but she was too quick. She grabbed the back of my shirt and threw me diagonally to the floor. My head smashed against the bottom of a cabinet and I thanked my luck that it hadn't been a metal stove. My luck wasn't that good after all, though. As I tried to get up, I saw Appaloosa swing a cast iron pan down onto my head.

Deep in my heart, I was happy I hadn't finished the bomb. This way I was the victim, not the victim. I never wanted to be the bad guy. No one really does. Accidents happen, and sometimes there's no going back. This must have been what Veronica felt like. Maybe she'd forgive me, now that we were even.

* * *

 **17th place: JD Dean- Head smashed by Appaloosa**

 **JD's form said she could possibly win. That was totally true. I didn't end up picking her, but it was not for lack of potential. She _did_ straight up kill a girl, but it was an accident. It didn't make her a murderer, just a manslaughterer. I forgot to write down Jayla's submitter, but thanks for her! She was somewhat dark and somewhat troubled but still creative and sympathetic.**


	39. Calm Seas

**Jayla Dean-** Tatsuya Hikaru

She was stronger and smarter than me. That's the way it goes in the Arena sometimes. Sometimes it's just who's luckier. Other than the getting Reaped thing, I'd had a pretty lucky life.

* * *

 **Melissa Hedley-** Philip Kozlov

I lasted longer than Melissa? Life is weird. There must not have been a crossbow in the Cornucopia. I hadn't even noticed. It was just me now. I wanted to be helpful to my District, but they seemed far away and remote now. Mostly I just wanted to be useful to my allies.

* * *

Alistair Bruce- District Nine male

Most people were probably looking for the kitchen, but I was too chicken. I needed supplies, though, since I had also been too chicken to run into the Bloodbath. As soon as the Games started, I ran for the stairs, and I was lucky enough to beat Fable. I'd been lurking on the first class deck ever since, hoping the Careers would think no one was dumb enough to stay there. Joke was on them- I _was_ dumb enough.

The first class cabins had super nice beds, but I wasn't using mine. I was curled up in the cabinet under the sink, behind a bunch of towels I'd shoved to the front to make it look like the cabinet was full of towels. It wasn't easy to get into quickly, though- if the Careers came suddenly, I'd probably have to hide under the bed and hope for the best. I, for one, had always been too afraid to look under the bed when I was little. They probably felt the same way.

There was one other advantage of a first class cabin. I had a suspicion that there was probably something useful in the room, and the second day in the Arena, I ventured out to look. There was a cabinet set against the wall on the other side of the room. There was a box on top of it, which I opened.

"Yuck."

The box was full of cigars. I shut it and pushed it to the back of the cabinet. I opened the door under the cabinet and found something much better.

"Yum."

Inside the cabinet there was a bar of chocolate and a tin of nuts. There were a whole bunch of bottles in the doorway, but they were all full of disgusting alcohol. I took one anyway, since I might be able to throw it in someone's eyes. What I _really_ wanted was the chocolate and nuts. That, along with the tap water in the room's sink, would keep me going probably as long as I needed.

* * *

Hades Rodriguez- District Seven male

The only chance for someone as small as me was to never be seen. There were a million hiding places in this Arena, but I thought I'd found the best of all. For the first day of the Games, I'd hidden under a staircase with a mop and some rags. After everyone was settled and the Careers had gone deeper into the ship to look for people, I snuck to the kitchen. Most of the food was gone or destroyed, since Fable and Jessie had already been there. I found some potatoes that fell under a stove, and there was always more water in the taps. The obvious idea would be to leave in case the Careers checked back, but I had a better idea.

There was a tiny little door set into the wall of the kitchen. I opened it and saw a tiny little box, just barely bigger than me. I knew exactly what it was. We had something similar to it in the Peacekeeper headquarters, and we used it to send packages between the floors. It was a dumbwaiter. My mom never let me play it in, but I'd always wanted to. It was time for me to do exactly what my mother told me not to do.

It was a tight squeeze inside the box. My knees were squished against my chest and my head was cocked, but it was worth it. The rope was between the box and the wall so someone could pull the box up and down. I could reach it from inside, meaning I could go between the floors whenever I wanted. I pulled the box between the top and middle decks so that anyone who opened the door would see an empty shaft. Then it was just me and my box.

I'd been hoping for an exotic Arena with lots of animals. As easy as it was to hide in the ship, I was disappointed there wouldn't be any wildlife. There weren't even any lobsters in the kitchen.

It didn't take long to get bored. In the Arena, there was a lot of waiting around between bursts of panic. I pulled myself to the bottom of the door between floors so a crack of light came into the box. I wanted to go out and explore, but it wasn't worth dying over. I nibbled a potato out of sheer boredom, then wiggled around to try to get more comfortable. With nothing else to do, I retreated into mind games.

 _Once upon a time, there was a tiger named... Fido. Not just any tiger, though. He was blue with black stripes..._

* * *

Amphilia Fortuna- District Four

I was glad I allied with Jasmine. She didn't talk much, so I didn't have to pretend we were best friends and would never hurt each other ever. She knew how things were, and she didn't expect more or act innocent. She was as willing to kill as I was- maybe even more. She didn't relish it, but she knew it had to be done. It made me feel less guilty about the way I was. I didn't feel like I had to defend myself.

Jasmine also used traps, which were easy to make in this Arena. We started simple. Down the hall, there was a broom closet full of cleaning supplies and whatnot. Some of them came in glass bottles. We smashed the bottles and scattered the glass on the floor around the staircases. The Careers would be wearing shoes, but the glass would still make noise if they came down, giving us time to get away. We also strung up cans from the railings for even more racket. If we wanted to get away, there was another staircase leading down. If the Careers somehow came from that direction, it wouldn't matter if we made noise going up, since they'd already know we were there.

Even though I volunteered so Wrasse couldn't kill people, almost all the people she would have killed would die anyway. It seemed useless until I held up a string to hang a can and remembered something she'd said. Back in the Academy, she talked about catching fish and stringing them up above the water so they flopped and gasped. She said she wondered if people did the same. People were still going to die, but no one would die like that. _I_ would probably die, but I was willing to pay that price. In this Arena, strings would hold cans, not people.

* * *

 **No deaths this time! The action IS going fast, though. It's been two full days at this point. The Bloodbath was at night, so it's harder to keep track.**


	40. HCl

Zibby Spooly- District Eight

"Why are we in a broom closet?"

It was a fair question. Tatsuya and I were on the very bottom deck. The ceilings were low and everything smelled like metal and hard work. I was moving boxes and crates around looking for two very specific items.

"For this," I said, holding up one jug in each hand.

"You're going to clean the bathrooms?" Tatsuya asked.

"Not exactly," I said. "Come on." I led him out of the closet and down to the end of the hall, by the stairs.

"You're going to do some mad science, aren't you?" Tatsuya asked.

"You bet," I said. I stood by the ventilation shaft set into the wall and pulled off the decorative grate.

"Know what happens when you mix bleach and drain cleaner?" I asked, pouring the two liquids into a basin I'd brought with from the broom closet.

"Something terrible?" Tatsuya asked.

"You get chlorine gas," I said. The liquid in the basin was still and undisturbed. It might have been water if it hadn't been for the odor.

"I'm going to guess that isn't good," Tatsuya said.

"No, not really. It kills you," I said.

Tatsuya reared back from the grate. "It _what?!"_

"Don't worry. It rises. It'll go through than fan," I said, pointing to the fan farther down the vent. "-and all the way through the ship."

"It'll kill everyone," Tatsuya said. He looked sickly at the smooth basin. "Are you sure about this? They're kids."

"Some of them are trying to kill us," I said.

"But some of them aren't," Tatsuya said. "Is it that easy for you? You don't even care?" he wasn't judgmental, just curious.

"Atoms coalesce into a human. Something disturbs them, they split apart. Later, they coalesce into something else. It's just the world," I shrugged. I was more fascinated by the chemical reactions in that unassuming basin. Death was coming together in that bowl. Chemicals were binding and seeking hydrogen. They would dissolve tissues to get it. Death was in that bowl, moving down the vents.

* * *

Jasmine Ashenvale- District Seven

I wondered what would happen if we caught anyone in the snares. Most of them were noisemakers, but some were actual traps. Amphilia might want to let them go if they weren't Careers. I wasn't ready for that. We were all in this for ourselves in the end. I wasn't willing to risk my life for any of these people. That was the way the world was. Things were hard, and eventually you die. It's what you do between those points that matters.

This Arena was no place for me. I missed the trees back home. I missed being able to see the sun out of more than just a single porthole. I hoped I would get back someday. When Amphilia and I settled down for our third night in the Arena, I lay in my bed and dreamed of home.

* * *

Appaloosa Stockholm- District Twelve female

I was choking. I was choking on air.

I'd gone down to the second class deck after getting food, hoping to avoid the Careers. Everything was fine for the first two days. I was searching a cabin for supplies when a bitter, acrid smell tinged the air. I sniffed to see what it was, and my lungs caught on fire. I gasped in pain and the burning air scorched me. I started to cough, and each cough brought another intake of burning air.

I fled the room and ran down the hall, trying to get away from the air. It followed me wherever I went, until my mouth foamed and drool followed each breath out. My eyes and skin started to tingle and then burn. I found a porthole and pounded on it with my fists, scraping at it and trying to twist it open to the fresh air outside. Blood flooded my throat and I heaved, spitting it on my front. I slid down the wall by the window, gasping and tearing at my skin.

The Gamemakers did this. They always chose who won. No one could get away if the very air was poisonous. Whoever it was they chose to win, I hoped he didn't see the rest of us.

* * *

Amphilia Fortuna- District Four

It was Jasmine's convulsions that woke me. Her hand smacked me in the face and I sprang up, thinking it was an intruder. I saw what had happened to her as soon as the air hit my lungs.

There was nothing I could do for Jasmine. I had to leave. My only hope was to reach the top deck. I leaned low as I ran, since the poison seemed to rise. That's why it got her first.

It was a long way to the staircase. I was crawling when I got there, half-blinded and streaming drool and blood. I pulled myself up the steps, but there were so many. I reached the bottom of the last flight of steps and lay looking up at the endless climb, panting and crying.

This was worse than anything Wrasse could have done. All the children who died up to now- it was a mercy.

* * *

Fable Anders- District One

Cannons were sounding, one after another. Jessie and I jerked awake.

"What's going on?" Jessie asked. She jumped out of bed and bent sharply, coughing.

I threw myself off the bed and started to scuttle to the door, keeping low. It was a gas attack, and it rose. "Come on!" I called over my shoulder to Jessie. She dropped to her knees and followed.

"We can make it!" I yelled as we fled toward the stairs. Jessie had gotten it worse than me. Her eyes were clamped shut and they streamed tears. Blood rose in the back of my throat as we crawled up the stairs.

My arms quivered as I reached the top and collapsed onto the deck. Fresh, cold air flooded into me, and even the cold ached in my raw lungs. I gasped in clean air and turned to Jessie.

She wasn't behind me. I looked over the top step and saw her at the bottom, curled on her side. I didn't even think before I took a deep breath and went back down. I grabbed her shirt and pulled.

"Go," she said weakly, batting at me. "Go. Go and live."

"No!" I shouted, and regretted it when my lungs started to burn again. I held my breath and yanked her up the stairs, tossing her onto the deck. She curled up tighter and coughed blood onto the deck. I started to cough again too, and my blood mingled with hers. I didn't know if either of us were going to live, but I wasn't leaving her.

* * *

Lilei Sparks- District Five

"What's happening?"

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see. Something happened to the air. We couldn't get to the top deck from where we were. We didn't have a chance.

I started to sob in fear as well as pain. I leaned over the side of my bunk, coughing and heaving.

"We'll be okay!" Philip said. I clutched the side of the bed and shook.

I heard a huge thud from somewhere in the room. I thought it was Philip's body hitting the floor, but I could barely see when I looked. Through my blurred vision, I saw Philip smashing the pointed end of a lamp against the window. The glass cracked in a spiderweb, giving me hope I never thought I'd have. Philip smashed the glass again, and a chunk of it flew out into the ocean. He pressed his mouth to it and sucked in.

"Come on," he said, pulling me over as I ran to his side. I kissed the glass, scraping my lips as I breathed in cold, fresh air. We took turns, breathing in one after another, eyes closed against the burning gas. The gas started to dissipate slowly, but the speed didn't matter. We had our lifeline: a single spot of shattered glass.

* * *

Calvin Heidi- District One male

 _A gas chamber. Isn't that what they use to execute murderers?_

It was what I deserved. It was justice. And that meant I didn't have to feel guilty anymore. You do a crime, you get sentenced, you serve the sentence, and your debt is paid. A life for a life. Blood for blood. I was paying the price, and after that I would be clean.

* * *

Hades Rodriguez- District Seven male

There was only one thing to do: _exactly_ what my mother said _never, EVER_ to do.

The air was poisoned. I was going to die if I didn't get away. The top deck was too far. It took me so long just to scramble out of the dumbwaiter, which didn't go to the top. There was only one way out.

Refrigerators are airtight. My mother told me never to get into a fridge. Not for hide-and-seek, not for a joke, not just for a minute, not _ever._ She said kids go into fridges to explore or play, and before they even realize it, the air is gone. Someone else opens the door, and a tiny body falls out. A tiny, blue, lifeless body.

There was nowhere else to go. My only chance was to take a chance and hope the door didn't lock from the inside. The gas would clear eventually. As soon as the air inside got the least bit stuffy, I'd take my chances outside. If the door opened. I pulled the door open and climbed inside.

 _Sorry, Mom._

* * *

 **Suprise! This is going a lot faster than most Games. I saw it happening and rolled with it. That's what happens when a mad scientist has lots of science available. I got the idea for the ventilation system and the whole even plan came together.**

 **16th place: Jasmine Ashenvale- Gassed**

 **I came into this thinking Jasmine would win. Seven needed a Victor and she was cool. Then I picked someone else, and I needed a lot of people for this cataclysm. I said chlorine rises (I didn't look it up because I don't actually know and didn't want to have to pick a different gas) and she was on the top, so that's all she wrote. Thanks Tinks for another solid Tribute. I liked Jasmine's heritage and how it didn't overpower her.**

 **15th place: Appaloosa Stockholm- Gassed**

 **Appaloosa lasted longer than perhaps expected. She seemed like a meathead but was actually clever and willing to admit her mistakes. She couldn't fistfight poison gas, but she did well while she lasted. I forgot to write down the submitter, but thanks for Appaloosa. I get enough brainy, sarcastic Tributes. Raw fighters are rarer.**

 **14th place: Amphilia Fortuna- Gassed**

 **Amphilia was a complicated Career, which is always nice. She had a good motive and was really a strong person to be willing to die to save those kids Wrasse would have tortured. Winning would have meant killing more, so at least this way she went out still a hero. Except Daren might argue with that. Thanks LordZagreus for a Four girl who wasn't a surfer bum, not that I don't like those.**

 **13th place: Calvin Heidi- Gassed**

 **Calvin was another very conflicted Tribute. He didn't know where he was going and might have ended up either majorly penitent or given up and become evil. Now we won't know, though I would guess he would have been penitent. He had a lot of guilt, but he can let that go now. Thanks Reader for a non-murderous but still lethal Career.**

 **P.S. Lyann, Totem and Thay are on the same deck as Tatsuya and Zibby so they didn't get gassed since it rose. They don't even know what happened, just that a buttload of people just died. Patrick, meanwhile, is on the top deck resting his arm, so he also didn't know.**


	41. An Eye For An Eye

Nubu Sanders, District Twelve mentor

They both had such painful deaths. First I saw Dayley trying to reel in his intestines, and then I saw Appaloosa coughing blood and convulsing. I wished they'd both died in the Bloodbath. I wished I could go to the Arena every year for both of them and die every time rather than watch them.

* * *

District Twelve

An orphan and a menace. Dayley didn't have anyone to miss him. The Games were the only way his District even knew he died. If he hadn't gotten Reaped, no one would have mourned him. Appaloosa had her family and the people she'd protected. For every kid remembering old wounds and smirking, there was another thanking her.

* * *

 **CALVIN HEIDI-** Fable Anders

Whoever did this was going to pay. I didn't even ally with Calvin, but of course I knew him. I saw him cleaning the Academy, and I wondered how he got so buff over the years. He wasn't a rich fat cat who got everything handed to him. He fought for everything, and someone stole it.

* * *

 **AMPHILIA FORTUNA-** Patrick Donegal

I didn't think I would outlast her. We all thought we'd win, but I never actually thought about a scenario where she died and I was still alive. Two Careers died last night, and I had no idea what had happened. Whatever it was, it must have been down in the belly of the ship. I was glad I missed it.

* * *

 **JASMINE ASHENVALE-** Hades Rodriguez

The fridge _did_ unlock, as I discovered when I braced myself, scrunched my eyes, and shoved the door. That was how I could see Jasmine's face on the ceiling. I didn't think I'd live to see it. People my age didn't win the Games. Alinta was the closest anyone had ever gotten. People like Jasmine won the Games. Everything was all mixed up.

* * *

 **APPALOOSA STOCKHOLM-** Lilei Sparks

I liked Appaloosa. Some people thought she was scary, but I always felt safer when she was around. I felt like none of the bigger Tributes would give me trouble with her giving them the stink eye. But there was no protection in the Arena.

Thay Strimling- District Eleven male

"What the heck happened?"

Four cannons went off out of nowhere, all within two minutes of each other. We'd spent the time huddled in a tiny third class cabin, waiting for whatever it was to reach us. If it was a mutt, maybe all three of us could fight it together. Lyann thought it was a plague, in which case we couldn't run _or_ fight.

"It's like that old story. It's Death, coming for all the kids," Totem said. But it didn't come for all of them, at least. The cannons stopped, and they didn't start back up.

"Should we go see what happened?" Lyann asked, peeking out the door.

"I don't know," I said. It might come back, or some of its victims might not be dead yet. I didn't want to see what they looked like.

"It killed two Careers. The only ones still together are Fable and Jessie," Totem said.

"They won't want to attack three people at once. If we stay together, we shouldn't have to worry about fights," I said.

"Let's not fight them, though," Lyann said.

"Definitely. If we just lay low and move around enough to be interesting, we might be able to last a long time," Totem said.

"My sponsors will probably send stuff soon," I said. "We can stay full and stay rested, and after a bit, we'll be the strongest people here." It was weird to think about. I'd never been the strongest at anything. The way things had worked out, we had a very real chance of getting to the end. One of us, anyway.

"Why do you think they picked this Arena? The boat is so old," Lyann said.

"Maybe they just like old stuff," I said.

"Do you know? You're super smart," Lyann asked Totem. He hadn't talked about it much, but he had let slip over training that school was always easy for him. That, and he was the only one that got a complete, unharried education.

"I wasn't sure, so I didn't say anything, but I might have read something. I didn't pay much attention in history, but we talked about a few old disasters. I guess a lot of ships sank in a few years back forever ago? There was a war or something?" he said.

"It's gonna _sink?!"_ Lyann said.

"I'm not _sure,"_ Totem said.

"How sure are you?" I asked. That seemed to be a pretty important distinction.

"Maybe we shouldn't be on the bottom deck," Totem admitted.

* * *

Lilei Sparks- District Five female

Philip and I lay on the bed, heaving and coughing. My lungs still ached, and I could barely see out of my teary eyes.

"I don't think this was the Gamemakers," Philip wheezed.

"You don't think..." I said.

"Zibby," he said, completing my thought. I'd known she was a mad scientist, but I didn't know she was _that_ strong.

"Do you think she meant to kill anyone, or just whoever was there?" I asked.

"I think she just knew everyone had to die if she wanted to live and she did what we're all trying to do. She's just better at it," Philip said.

"You think Jessie and Fable were below deck when this happened?" I asked.

"They didn't die, but they probably camp on the first class deck," Philip said. "Why?"

"If they got gassed, they probably feel just like us. They don't want to move either, which makes this the perfect time to find a medical office and find medicine," I said.

Philip got up right away. "Let's do it," he said. He was always ready to move or do something.

"Where do you think it is?" Philip asked as we slowly walked, leaning against the walls.

"I'd put it on the second class deck, so it's right in the middle," I said. Philip groaned as he thought of climbing steps.

"It's clear," I said, peeking around the corner of the stairs and down the hall. We limped around, looking through staterooms and broom closets.

"There should be a map," Philip said.

"There should at least be signs," I said. A hospital is a pretty important thing to be able to find.

I almost threw up before we finally found it. I itched and burned all over, but I was afraid if I itched my skin would fall off. We stumbled into the tidy, sterile-looking room and searched the shelves. _Antiseptic, whiskey, gauze..._

"Look at this," Philip said, turning a bottle toward me. _Cocaine Toothace Drops,_ it read. "You think it's real?"

"I'm not finding out," I said. I pushed around more and found another bottle.

 _Anti-irritant eye wash,_ it read, on a background of old-timey designs and calligraphy. That was more like it.

* * *

 **A lot of people are dying fast, so let's take five and NOT kill anyone this time.**

 **Someone asked about sponsors. I am too lazy to count points, so you can just kind of send stuff if you don't go crazy. I might also send some stuff myself- mostly small items to people who should logically get stuff, like the Careers and Thay's alliance. I'll just send Thay food if I do.**


	42. Making it Rain

Tatsuya Hikaru- District Three male

I'd been interested to see how sponsor gifts would arrive in an enclosed Arena. I needn't have been worried. A little hatch opened in the ceiling and the parachute fell right out.

"Ooh, what is it? Did they send what I asked for?" Zibby asked, peering over my shoulder.

"It's a knife and some food," I said. Which was what _I'd_ asked for. Zibby's request had not got unanswered, though.

"Why the styrofoam packaging?" I asked. Zibby had been very insistent that I ask for the package to be styrofoam.

"It's gonna be so cool," she said, gathering the styrofoam containers. I wasn't so sure. Last time Zibby said something would be "cool", we recreated the Holocaust. I knew everyone had to die if we wanted to live, but it still made me sick.

"Let's find the infirmary," Zibby said.

"What's in the infirmary?" I asked, expecting some hard to pronounce chemical or acid.

"A generator," Zibby said. "There will be a generator there in case the ship's power goes out."

If Zibby got her hands on a generator, she could blow the ship up, or worse. Honestly, Zibby was the reason I'd asked for a knife. There was no matchmaking in the Arena. Only one person came out. I knew Zibby didn't romanticize life. When the time came, I wanted to be as ready as she was.

It took us hours to find the infirmary, and we weren't the first ones to get there. No one was there, but the scattered bottles and jars told us someone had survived our attack and sought out help. Zibby disregarded the medicines, at least for the moment, and bent over a machine in one corner.

"What do you need a generator for? You already have power," I said.

"Yeah, but that's coal power. I needed gas," Zibby said, opening the top. She explained what she was going to do, and I shied away from it at first. It didn't seem right.

"This one's just for Careers," Zibby promised. "Really, I just want to see if it works. I'm not eve sure I'll have the guts to actually use it."

* * *

Lyann Levett- District Nine female

I should have expected we'd get some sponsors. Thay and Totem were both rich, Totem obscenely so. I was the only poor urchin, which made it really funny that the package was addressed to me.

"It's darts," I said, taking the darts from the package.

"Think they're poisonous?" Totem asked.

"I'm not sure. Better not find out," I said.

"If we find the infirmary, maybe there's something poisonous there," Thay said.

"Yeah, if I had an infirmary, I'd want to keep poisons in it," Totem said. Thay made a face at him.

"No, but I bet there's rat poison around somewhere," I said. "Wouldn't want the rich passengers finding a rat in their room."

Broom closets were easy to find on the crew deck. There was at least one on every hall, and the first one yielded what we needed: a cardboard box with a x-ed out rat on it.

"Does it work in the blood, or do you have to eat it?" Thay asked.

"That stuff's really poisonous. I think it will work either way," Totem said. I rolled the darts in the powder and _very_ carefully put them back in the package.

"We're already halfway there," Totem commented when we were done. I hadn't really thought about how far I would make it, but I was a little surprised. I didn't have Totem's body or Thay's support network. I was a pretty normal, average girl. I didn't even have a physical job. I was a _maid._ Maids didn't get remembered or become heroes. They were the supporting characters. Getting this far, especially getting farther than so many Careers, gave me a confidence boost. Maybe people had been underestimating me, and I'd been underestimating myself. No one could really prepare for the Games. You can train, but you can't prepare. It comes down to what kind of person you are, and it seemed I might be a winner.

* * *

Patrick Donegal- District Four

If I got past Jessie and Fable, there wouldn't be anyone left to oppose me. I'd still have to be careful and stay safe, but they were my biggest competition. They definitely would be thinking the same about me, though. They knew if they killed me, it would be child's play to mop up everyone else. They were probably looking for me right now. I might be able to fight, but this was no time to be proud. Better to get home with a little honor than die with a lot.

Something about the ship had been bothering me from the start, and I had just recently figured out what it was. There were four smokestacks all down the middle of the top deck, but only three of them had smoke. The smoke was so thin it was hard to notice, but once I saw it, there was no going back. The fourth stack was different, and I wanted to know why.

 _It's probably a trap,_ I thought as I climbed the ladder leading up the stack. _It's an idiot trap, waiting for some idiot to poke his head over and get incinerated._ I stopped at the end of the ladder and stuck one hand over- no easy feat, since I was climbing almost entirely one-handed, using my stabbed arm to just sort of hold on a little and steady myself. My hand didn't burst into flames, so I peeked over.

 _A-HA!_

It _was_ a fake. It was an empty column leading all the way down. There was a vent in the bottom to let air out of the lower decks, but other than that, it was all empty. A ladder led down into the stack, and I climbed down for a closer look. The bottom looked pretty much just like the top.

 _This could work for a while,_ I thought. Most people had more to think about than a non-smokey smokestack. I'd have to fight eventually, but this could work for a while. The vents in the side even let me spy on the top deck invisibly. I could recover in safety and move back out when I was ready.

 _Well what do you think of that?_ A parachute fluttered down into the stack, carrying a tiny box. I opened it and found a sling and a tube of cream, which I smeared on my arm. I wouldn't have to lay low very long after all.

* * *

 **Another deathless chapter so things don't end too fast! I used it to catch up with the sponsors flooding in.**

 **Not shown:**

 **Filly got a ninja star and Lilei got brass knuckles**

 **Fable and Jessie got chlorine medicine**

 **EVERYONE got a life jacket. The person asked if it was too much, but I thought "lol they still gonna freeze if it sinks" so I went with it.**


	43. I Love the Smell

**Lilei and Filly have been sponsored protein bars and Alistair has received a knife and bandages.**

* * *

Jessie Cabello- District Two female

I never would have imagined Fable would save me. People from Career Districts didn't act like that. No one had ever done anything like that for me before. Chrome loved me and did everything she could, but I was usually the one rescuing her from our dad. He always did go harder on her. Ulli left both of us behind as soon as she turned eighteen. She was the only one of us that really won.

I didn't even know what to say to Fable. I didn't have any reference point for something like this. I was so overwhelmed and thankful I couldn't express it, so I shoved it down and acted businesslike.

After the medicine kicked in, which was super fast, I knew our next move. Everyone else would still be reeling from the effects of the gas. They'd either be curled up somewhere crying and drooling, or they'd be in the infirmary trying to find medicine. If we had anything to say, they wouldn't find it.

Silence hung thick in the air as we stalked the halls. I knew I should say something to Fable, but nothing I could say would include everything I meant. Only the faint sound of our footsteps echoed in the halls. Then, something emanated through the walls.

"Watch _this."_

* * *

Zibby Spooly- District Eight female

"Watch _this."_

I'd always wanted to do this. I'd never had the materials before. Styrofoam was easy enough, but gas was expensive. It shouldn't have stopped me, really, since I'd stolen so many other materials before. It was just something I'd never gotten around to, I suppose. So much science, so little time.

Styrofoam and gasoline. That was all it took. All it took for a spectacular, perhaps cataclysmic result. I couldn't wait to see if it worked. The styrofoam sank into the gasoline and melted into a grayish glop. I held up the match we'd found in a cigar case and touched it lightly to the goop, yanking my hand away immediately.

A tiny flame licked at the soup, spreading until there was an inferno in the gas tub. Waves of heat pulsed over me and Tatsuya as we watched, me in fascination and him in trepidation.

"Just _try_ to put _that_ out," I crowed. That's the entire point of napalm, after all.

"Zibby!" Tatsuya yelled.

 _What? It's just napalm,_ I thought. When I turned to look, he wasn't looking at my experiment. He was looking at the door, and at Fable and Jessie standing in it.

I grabbed the edge of the tub. I wasn't sure I was willing to douse the two Careers in liquid fire, but if they thought I would, they wouldn't come any closer. Tatsuya darted around me toward the back door. Fable hesitated in the doorway.

But it was Jessie who took the biggest step. She pushed sideways in front of Fable and shoved me back, all of this happening in the second after I touched the napalm drum. She grabbed my by the shirt and shoved me back. As I overbalanced, I reflexively grabbed her. We both tumbled back, falling across the napalm tub. My back hit the fire and I went up in flames as the tub tipped over and drenched us both.

 _One more experiment,_ I thought as the burning jelly smeared across me. Theoretically, that kind of burn quickly seared the nerve endings, ending the pain. The experiment was a success: it was true. After an instant of searing pain, I felt like I was made of plastic. Tatsuya fled the room as Fable shrieked and desperately searched for something to douse the flames. This would be my last experiment, but what a way to go out. Few people had so literally donated their bodies to science.

* * *

Jessie Cabello- District Two female

Fable's screams filled the air as she searched the room for anything to put out the fire Zibby's cannon signaled that there was no hope of that. I waved her off as she crouched by me and put out her hands to swat at the fire.

"Don't," I said, and my words were slurred because the skin around my mouth was starting to melt together and web up. "Go have a good life." I was almost done in this world. It had been mostly pain, abuse, and vain attempts to gain the love of someone who valued only my potential. But I'd made friends in the Capitol. I'd had a week to myself and I'd made every minute count. I was done now, but Fable wasn't. I wanted her to have the life I never got.

* * *

 **12th place: Zibby Spooly- Burned by napalm**

 **If you mix gasoline and styrofoam, you get napalm. Cool, right? Not so cool when you burn to death. That thing about burns searing nerves is also true. Based on this book I read about a guy who set himself on fire, it hurt the most as he healed. Inhaling the fire would also sear your insides pretty quick, so it wasn't as bad as it might have been, as far as burning to death grows. I didn't mean Zibby to turn out murderous. It just seemed like someone so into science might view life more clinically than otherwise. That's why people called her a mad scientist. I had fun with her cool experiments, and this is the very definition of going out blazing. Thanks SparkaLeah for probably the most deadly Tribute in the Arena, even though she just wanted to make science.**

 **11th place: Jessie Cabello- Burned by napalm**

 **Jessie had such a stunted upbringing that she wasn't good at expressing her feelings. The ultimate way to thank Fable was by doing the same. Whether or not Zibby would have thrown the napalm, Jessie made sure she didn't. Jessie had a terrible life and kept on going. She was crazy resilient and more mature than she should have been. She's done with her father forever now, and in this universe at least, all kids go to Heaven. Thanks Snowstar for a legacy character who wasn't overshadowed by her predecessor.**


	44. Dead Ahead

**JESSIE CABELLO-** Fable Anders

Even most Careers wouldn't intentionally burn someone to death. It was the most horrible thing I'd ever seen. We watched Games replays and played out scenarios in the Academy, but nothing prepared me for that. I would smell that charred-pork smell for the rest of my life. Jessie was the bravest girl I'd ever met.

* * *

 **ZIBBY SPOOLY-** Tatsuya Hikaru

I wouldn't have had a chance if she'd lived. Even without meaning to, she could have killed me. It was Fable's Games to win now. Her or Patrick, but Fable seemed like the better bet to me. I would remember Zibby as the genius eccentric she was, and I thanked her for getting me so much closer to the end.

* * *

Avariella Hanson, District Two mentor

I just wanted Jessie to get away from this one way or another. Goodness knew I'd contemplated escape myself when I was still training. That was never the answer, and it wasn't what Jessie did in the end. People like us just knew there were things more valuable than life. Daren's death was a shock to us all. He was a sensitive young man, and he wouldn't have fit in with the Victors either. That didn't make his death the "best thing". It just made it easier for the survivors.

* * *

District Two

The Forty-ninth Hunger Games did nothing for the Two-Four relations. You don't just kill a fellow Career in the Bloodbath. It's insulting and robs them of their honor. Their lives they knew they were risking, but honor is worth more than that. We were so mad at Four we almost overlooked Eight. At least Zibby had a reason to kill Jessie. Meanwhile, David Cabello sank quietly into drunkenness and fury. Having never accomplished anything in his own life, his only chance had been to force someone else into it. Having failed three times, there was nothing left but resentment and liver failure.

* * *

Tillo Peters, District Eight mentor

I'd expected Jacob to die early, but Zibby was a complete wild card. She At five kills, she was almost certainly going to be the deadliest Tribute in the Games. I was happy she got to make some weird stuff before she went. If she'd won, I wasn't sure the Capitol would have survived. And Jacob probably knew what was going to happen before the Games even started, so at least he made his time in the Capitol count.

* * *

District Eight

The factories and companies of Nine breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Zibby would no longer be swiping nuclear waste and car batteries. Much as we missed such a promising young mind- who probably would have created cold fusion or something- we were glad she wouldn't be blowing us all up. Jacob was another fun-loving, worthwhile kid who was gone too soon. The only bright side was not having to worry about it for almost an entire year.

* * *

Alistair Bruce- District Nine male

I had no idea what happened a few days ago, but I wasn't questioning it. Four people dead in five minutes? I was sorry for the dead kids and all, but I had to be honest. My first thought was that it wasn't me, just like everyone else still alive. Then Jessie and Zibby died yesterday, taking out two more huge threats. The Careers were both alone now, and there was a lot of ship to hide in.

A parachute dropped out of the ceiling and bounced off my head, not having enough time to open. I hadn't been expecting anything else after the very ominous gift of a life jacket earlier. I gleefully opened the package and took out a knife and a roll of bandages.

"Sweet! Thanks," I said to whoever sent it. I tucked the goodies into my pockets and kept moving. Somehow, getting a life jacket made me think that maybe being on the top deck would be a good idea.

I was afraid I would run into other people on my way up from the bottom deck, but the halls were empty as I made my way to the top. It was the middle of the night. The Careers must have decided to bed down instead of stalk, and the others would be holed up somewhere. As I ascended the stairs to the second-class deck, the ship jostled just slightly. _We must have hit a wave,_ I thought. Or else I'd go to the top deck and see we'd run aground on an island. Or hit a giant octopus. There was a faint noise like sliding marbles, and then everything was fine again. We must not have hit ground, then. The sudden stop would have been more jarring.

The top deck was cold as a witch's rack, as my dear grandmother used to say. The air had that sharp wind in it, and my throat burned as I breathed. There were chunks of ice on the deck, which seemed surprising. It shouldn't be _that_ cold...

* * *

Patrick Donegal- District Four

There was really no cause for me to poke my head over the top of the smokestack in the middle of the night. It was just boredom more than anything else, but boy howdy did it cure the boredom. I peeked over and looked out into the ocean, expecting to see... a lot of water.

 _OH MY GOD._

There was a giant iceberg right in front of the boat, coming toward us fast. Really we were going toward it, but that didn't matter, did it? The boat was starting to curve away from it, but there wasn't nearly enough time. The jagged, rock-hard ice was inescapable.

 _Crap crap crap crap CRAP CRAP CRAP!_

I flipped myself over the top of the smokestack and flew down the ladder. I hit the bottom running and sprinted for the lifeboats.

 _Holy SH-_

* * *

 **No deaths this time, but gonna go out on a limb and say that when the ship disappears into the abyss, there may be some casualties...**


	45. Abandon Ship

Fable Anders- District One female

After Jessie died, I was on my own. I had to watch my own back, which meant barricading the door before settling down in my cabin for the night. I'd just fallen into a fitful, nightmare-filled sleep when a booming voice woke me.

" _Attention, passengers. Some of you may have noticed a slight jarring a few moments ago. Please do not be alarmed. There is nothing to worry about. Remember, God himself could not sink this ship!"_

 _Okay, I definitely do not believe that._ The Capitol was good to One, and we were loyal. All the same, we weren't _that_ ditzy. You didn't say "the ship isn't sinking" unless _the ship is sinking!_

I jumped out of bed and shoved the heavy couch away from the door. Grabbing only my sword and the life jacket I'd gotten earlier, I ran up the stairs to the top deck. On the way, I noticed the floor had an odd slant to it. Sure enough, when I got to the top, I saw the entire ship was listing to one side.

 _What happened?_ I looked around and saw the giant iceberg with paint scraped along its side. _That happened._ Patrick was down at the far end of the ship tugging on the pulleys attached to a lifeboat. Alistair was even farther down, alternately working on another boat and checking to make sure Patrick wasn't going to attack. I turned to the lifeboat dangling over the edge of the boat across from me and got to work.

 _Crap, how do these things work?_ Patrick was already inside his boat and lowering himself down into the water as nimbly as a monkey. I, however, had no experience with boats. I tugged at one part of the rope after another, and the boat started to snake down toward the water.

The air above my head started to chime, and I looked up as the parachute neared my head. I stepped aside and tore open the package when it landed, revealing a thick rubber rectangle.

 _PULL,_ read a red tab. I pulled and a raft inflated itself with a bang. There are perks to living in the richest District. _Oh duh, of course there are. What kind of dumb statement is that?_

I was about to climb into the boat when I got a better idea. I had my raft all ready. I just had to toss it over and jump there was no need to rush. Everyone else was about to come pouring onto the top deck. If they wanted to get to the lifeboats, they had to get past me. It would be the Bloodbath all over again.

* * *

Totem Sweeney- District Five male

" _God himself could not sink this ship!"_

"Guys, I think we better move!" I yelled. Lyann and I had started out of sleep when the voice rang out. Thay, who had been standing guard, was already gathering the life jackets.

We burst out of the room and sprinted down the halls toward the staircase. We had no idea how far the ship had already sunk, but the tilting floors weren't a good sign. We were running up a noticeable incline already, and it might have just been my imagination, but it seemed steeper every second.

The stairs came into view. As we approached, the iron elevator-style gates flanking the stairwell started to move.

 _What's that?_ I wondered as I ran. My blood ran cold when I realized.

"The gates are shutting!" I shouted behind me to Thay and Lyann. I hadn't realized how far ahead of them I was. I always was a fast runner.

Once the gates started to move, they picked up speed. I leaned forward, grabbing the iron and yanking myself through. I tried to wedge myself between the gate and the wall, screaming for my allies to hurry, but the heavy iron pushed me out of the way and clicked shut. I looked through the bars with horror at Thay and Lyann, who were just then reaching the locked gate.

"It's locked!" Lyann screamed, yanking at the bars. Thay looked down, lifting his foot and revealing the dampness seeping across the wood floor.

"I'll find the key!" I shouted. "Try to find another way!" The boat shifted, and I leaned against the bars at the change in gravity.

"Someone help us!" Thay cried out to his sponsors. Lyann darted down the hall, looking for another exit.

"I'll come back!" I yelled. "I promise!" I turned and ran up the stairs. _Where would the keys be? The Captain's room!_ Surely the Captain would have keys. But how long did I have before they drowned? I wouldn't know until it happened. Time to run.

* * *

Lilei Sparks- District Five female

Philip and I crouched inside the stairwell to the top deck. We peeked around the corner at Jessie, who stood guard by the edge of the boat, waiting for someone to emerge.

"What do we do?" I whispered to Philip. We both had life jackets, but that wouldn't do any good. We didn't have to worry about the sinking killing us. Fable would take care of that. She was positioned between the two stairwells, watching them both in turn.

"There's only one thing we _can_ do," Philip said.

"What?" I asked. I knew what it was, but I wanted someone else to say it.

"On the count of three, run for it," Philip said. "We'll go that way." He pointed diagonally away from Fable.

"Maybe one of us can get a boat down," I said. If Fable chased one of us, the other might be able to slip to the other side and get one of those lifeboats. It was a long shot, but it was our only shot.

"Ready?" Philip asked. "One... two... _three!"_

We both shot out of the stairwell. Fable saw us and gave chase. As soon as I saw her run, I knew I didn't have a chance of reaching the other side. Philip might, but it didn't look good for him either. I had maybe five seconds before she caught me and cut me down. There was only one place to go. Without even thinking, I switched directions. I heard Fable's footsteps echoing behind her and heard her panting exhalations. I made one final dash, hurling myself over the ship's railing and down into the water.

* * *

 **In real life it took the Titanic four hours to sink. I'll be cutting that down to about two hours just so things don't take forever.**


	46. Never Let Go

Philip Kozlov- District Ten male

We were out of the frying pan and into the fire. Or the exact opposite- out of the boat and into the ocean.

The splash told me that Lilei had the same idea as me, only quicker. I followed after, jumping into the water. My dropping stomach and the cold air whizzing past disoriented me, so I couldn't tell how long it took me to hit the surface. I dropped below the water and quickly bobbed back up as my jacket caught me. The frigid water soaked into my skin so sharply and suddenly it took my breath away. I gasped as my chest tightened and locked. I'd had no idea cold water could hurt so much. I reflexively clawed and tugged at the side of the boat, trying to pull myself up and out of the icy water. But there was no escape, and the realization chilled me even more.

"Lilei!" I called, and it came out shrill and strained.

"I'm here!" she called back. We paddled toward each other, neither of us knowing how to swim but both kept afloat by our life jackets. I looked up and saw Fable look down at us before she vanished.

"It's so cold," Lilei said, she was shivering already, and her hair was plastered to her head. I could see in her expression that she didn't want to come to the conclusion I already had.

"Keep swimming," I said. "Maybe someone will let us into their boat." The only person already afloat was Patrick. He was a Career, but he never went after younger Tributes. He was paddling some distance away from the boat, but then he stopped and looked back at the sinking ship.

It felt horribly unnatural to swim through the frigid water. Any other time, I would reflexively get out and dry off. I couldn't now, and my body kept complaining. My fingers stiffened into paddles as we awkwardly moved around in the water. A cannon sounded, and we both spun.

"We're going to freeze to death," Lilei said.

"Just keep swimming. We won't die if we keep swimming," I said.

The cold hurt so badly it brought tears to my eyes, and they were warm on my face. Lilei and huddled together, holding each other with one arm as we steadied ourselves with the other. The boat started to tilt up into the air, outlined against the night sky. We had to keep going. We couldn't stop.

* * *

Lilei Sparks- District five female

There was nowhere to go. Even if we made it to Patrick's boat, he wouldn't let us in. Philly knew that. He just couldn't give up. He couldn't stop trying.

I knew coming in that I wouldn't win. I wasn't going to be the plucky girl who volunteered for her friend and won it all. I wasn't special or the chosen one. I was just a girl reckless enough and brave enough in just the right combination at just the right moment.

I couldn't swim anymore. The cold was inside me, all the way to my bones. Philip held me up as I lay limply in the water. I was glad I was going first. Philly would be happy he could hold me up and be the strong, useful one.

The cold was fading. I knew what it meant, but I still welcomed it. There were worse ways to die than fading away. It was a beautiful night. Any other time, I would have loved the view. It was worth it all that Kayla could still see it.

* * *

Tatsuya Hikaru- District Three male

Living with a rock star for a sister meant I could sleep through just about anything. What finally got me up was the freezing cold water washing over my bed.

I jumped out of bed, splashing down in knee-high water. I'd moved to the second class deck after Zibby died, which was probably all that kept me alive. Otherwise, I might not have made it to the top before the water filled the halls.

We should have known the Gamemakers would sink the ship. You couldn't have a ship Arena without making it into a shipwreck Arena. I burst out of the stairwell onto the top deck and almost fell over because of the slanting floor. I ran to the edge of the ship and looked over to see where the lifeboats were dangling. There was one to my right, and I turned to run for it.

Before I could get started, I saw Fable running at me in my peripherals. She'd been hiding behind me between the two sets of stairs, waiting for someone to run out just like I did. As I picked up a foot to run, she ran me through from behind with her sword, pushing me into the railing and almost over it. The metal of her blade was cold as it hit me, like getting stabbed with an icicle. It felt even colder when it reached my insides.

I flailed my arms as Fable's strike tipped me backwards. The movement knocked Fable off-balance, and she stumbled on the tilted floor. She pushed me back further as she righted herself, tilting me far enough that I slid off her sword and into the water. The water must have been even colder than the sword, but I barely felt it.

* * *

Philip Kozlov- District Ten male

 _I'll rest when I'm dead._

Isn't that what they say? You work hard all your life, and then you die. That day seemed to be coming pretty soon at this point. I wasn't even sure Lilei was still alive. I could easily have missed her cannon. If she wasn't yet, we both would be soon.

My body was shutting down. My movements were sluggish and my brain was slowing. I was reaching that point we always read about in adventure stories- the part where you just want to lie down and sleep. I ignored it as long as I could, pushing myself to the very end. And when the very end came, I found rest.

* * *

 **10th place: Tatsuya Hikaru- run through by Fable**

 **Sometimes I get a Tribute I know will be easy to write and differentiate from the others. Tatsuya had so much to start from with the matchmaking and his family. He was a go-getter for sure- if he hadn't been Reaped, he would have gotten invited to the Capitol eventually if he'd wanted to. He lasted a long time due to his combination of not being a bonehead and not being a threat. Having to pass through such a bottleneck to get to the lifeboats is going to make it hard for any outlier, and he was just one of the victims. Thanks Winter for such a dynamic and bold Tribute.**

 **9th place: Lilei Sparks- hypothermia**

 **People came in expecting to not like Lilei because of the volunteering thing. That usually IS a recipe for disaster, but it can work. She DID volunteer, but she wasn't super capable or really super anything. She was just a normal girl who made a big move. She played her cards smart and didn't get into trouble until now, but once she got in trouble, there wasn't much to do. I'm happy to have written NyantoDaMax's first SYOT submission. I've seen a lot of submissions, and I think Lilei was just fine. I appreciated her simplicity and realistic abilities.**

 **8th place: Philip Kozlov- Hypothermia**

 **Philip was bigger, so he took longer to freeze. He had a lot of demons, but he soldiered on and made the most of his crummy hand. He was insanely driven and more responsible than someone his age should have to be. He was a good ally to Lilei and Soya and made it really far for someone his age. Thanks AmericanPi and congrats for NOT dying really early like I always seem to do! No joke, I read your comment on that and was like "LOL you're right' and made a note to not kill Philly early.**

 **The ship's not even finished sinking yet! We got a lot more people to kill. Right now it's at about a 20 degree angle. It kind of increases exponentially, so it will tilt really fast at the end. Probably everyone who will get off will be off by then.**


	47. Rising

**Someone pointed out that Philly and Lilei looked out at Jessie. Explanation? It was Jessie's GHOoOoOooOst! But actually it was a goof and should have said Fable.**

* * *

Acee Hal, District Three mentor

My money would have been on Jayla to last close to the end. I hadn't even known what to think of Tatsuya. He promised to help me find a gentleman friend if I won. That was the way he put it, too- "gentleman friend". That _would_ have been exciting. I'd had my share of romances, but nothing ever stuck. But anyway, they were both dead now. I was going to miss them.

* * *

District Three

The loss of Jayla spawned rumors, new interest in her case, and finally apathy. Miyuji Hikaru disappeared shortly after his death, taking only her guitar and a picture of the two of them. That left the Hikarus to mourn two children, but they knew Miyuji was fine. She was a smart, headstrong girl. She would be back if she wanted.

* * *

Bambi Kirkland, District Ten mentor

Philip surprised us all. No matter how smart or capable they were, the Games were no place for young Tributes. He did good- better than I would have done. Better than I _did._ I might have won, but he was better than me.

* * *

Calvary Warsaw, District Ten mentor

In an outdoor Arena, Mel would have dominated. She would have been a shoo-in. But then, some people would have called _me_ a shoo-in, and that didn't go so well the first time. Maybe next time for Mel.

* * *

District Ten

The fragile, nearly nonexistent progress of the Kozlovs was not helped by Philip's death. Edison vowed to continue the fight in his brother's memory and worked to further wean himself from morphling. The rest of the family went back to their own addictions and functioned as well as they could. The Hedleys continued as well as they could. Josh's application to take over Mel's firearm was denied, on the grounds that he might use it on himself. While that may possibly have been true at first, things always get better in time.

* * *

Thay Strimling- District Eleven male

"He'll get back in time. He'll be back."

Totem was such a fast runner. He'd be back in just a few minutes. He'd be back before the water, which was already at our calves, even got to our knees. No matter that it was rising so fast- faster every second, as the boat started to tilt more and more. That just made it a downhill run to us.

Lyann shoved a bit of metal we'd snapped off a decorative lamp into the lock over and over, trying to pick it. Her fingers were raw and oozed blood from accidental pricks, and she was bent over at her task like a crone.

"I'll try to find another way," I said. We knew we wouldn't use any of the normal exits. The staircase behind us down the hall was also gated. The only open staircase led down, and it was already full of water. I went into one of the steerage cabins lining the halls, even though I'd already been in there before. The porthole was easy enough to break, but it was only as big around as a cantaloupe. We couldn't fit through.

The water seeped up my clothes, chilling my hips and then my stomach. It was a primal, inexorable force, unintelligent and still so menacing. _Never down. Only up. Less and less air, until there's nothing left._ I was watching doom well up around me. It was at my midsection when I finally gave up and waded back to Lyann. She was still hard at work, even though she was shivering violently and I could see her fingers couldn't move. For an instant, I entertained the notion that Totem had left us, but it was gone just as quickly. He wasn't like that. If he was going to abandon us, he wouldn't have lied. He would have done at least that much for us, and I was confident he would do much more.

 _Where are you?_

The next thought was the one that stuck. Totem had run to get the keys. Those would be in the captain's quarters, or perhaps in an equipment room. That was where they would be on a normal ship, anyway. This wasn't a normal boat. It was entirely artificial, made for the Gamemakers' purposes. It was entirely possible that it didn't matter how fast at all Totem ran, because it was entirely possible that there were never any keys at all.

* * *

Lyann Levett- District Nine female

It was fitting the Gamemakers would do this. It was perfectly fitting that Capitolites would design an Arena where those on the bottom level would be trapped. We were on the steerage deck- the _servants'_ deck. We were below them, weren't we? Servants didn't matter. Servants weren't human.

My lungs spasmed as the water hit my chest. I couldn't feel my fingers, and my legs were a dull ache. I jammed the metal into the lock in frustration and panic, hoping to rip it open. I didn't even know how to pick a lock. It was just something to do so we wouldn't give up.

"Maybe someone will send us something," Thay said. We weren't so frenzied anymore. We weren't screaming and running around, looking for anything that might help us. We were so cold we didn't have energy for anything but surviving, and we wouldn't be doing that much longer.

 _He left us,_ I thought, but it wasn't fair. It wasn't Totem's fault the Gamemakers did this. There wasn't a key. There had never been a key. Poor people didn't deserve a chance. I just hoped Totem got off the boat. He was rich. They probably wanted him to win.

I couldn't see the lock anymore. The water was too high, all the way to the shoulders. Thay pressed in close behind me to try to conserve body heat. I let go of the lock and turned to embrace him.

"Any other time, this might be a good thing," I joked as we cuddled into each other, my face so stiff I could barely speak. That didn't have an answer. I wondered if it was water on his face or tears.

"It's been fun," Thay said as the water reached our faces. We tilted our heads to look at the ceiling as the last bit of water came in.

Underwater, everything had a ghostly glow. The ship's light were still on, casting beams down the hall. I moved down to the cabin doorway and I could see all the way out the porthole to the dark water outside. It was cold as ice, and soon we would be, too. I took Thay's hand as the last of our air streamed out in bubbles, dancing on the ceiling. The Capitol was wrong. We weren't the ones that weren't human.

* * *

 **6th place: Lyann Levett- Drowned**

 **Yep, you all were right. I didn't know who would get stuck at first, but I knew the gate thing would happen. I felt mean, but they had to die somehow. Lyann knew the odds and played safely, which got her a long way. She was the most practical of her alliance and her street smarts helped them a lot. Thanks DestroynotCreate for Lyann. I liked how polite but real she was. She made the system work for her... until she got Reaped, anyway.**

 **6th place: Thay Strimling- Drowned (I didn't determine who went first)**

 **I never had a waiter before. I thought that was really cool. Thay was charismatic, friendly, and all-around cool. He and Totem had more to talk about, but he was also friends with Lyann. You're always good for a good Tribute, Tracey. Thay was rich, but he didn't let that change him. He was gold on the inside as well as out.**


	48. Man the Lifeboats

Frankie Disney, District Eleven mentor

I had the easiest job of the mentors. I could see a thousand children die and go on like nothing happened, because nothing _did_ happen in my brain. It was wrong Soya died and it was wrong Thay died, but I didn't share in the suffering. I didn't share in a lot of humanity, and sometimes I was thankful for it.

* * *

District Eleven

Soya was a foregone conclusion. The younger ones always hit the hardest. We all wanted to protect them, but we could only watch. Thay's father could have capitalized on his death in his campaigns, but he remained private. Not all Capitolites were evil.

* * *

Totem Sweeney- District Five male

A cannon went off shortly after I went to find the key. I flinched and waited for another. When it didn't come in thirty seconds, I knew it wasn't that one of my allies had drowned. They might be freezing to death, though, so I had to move fast.

 _Nothing. There's nothing anywhere._

The minutes crawled by as I ran from one room to another. I didn't know how much time I had, but I knew it was getting shorter. My breath hitched and my sides ached as I desperately searched. With every room, my hopes grew dimmer. There wasn't a key. There was no hope.

Another cannon sounded, and I waited for the second. It didn't come, so I kept running. Another cannon sounded maybe five minutes later, but it was also alone. Then another cannon sounded, and another five seconds later.

 _That was them._ I knew it, even though I hadn't seen it. I ran back to the staircase leading down to Thay and Lyann. I reached the top and stopped, sagging against the frame. I couldn't eve see the bottom of the stairs. The water was all the way up to my feet. They were dead.

 _They're gone._ I imagined wading down the stairs and looking down the hall. In the dark, murky water, would I see them floating? Lyann's hair would be drifting around her like a crown. Would they drift toward me, still reaching out for me?

 _There's nothing I can go. I have to go._

I started up the stairs to the top deck. Some instinct stopped me halfway up, and I flattened myself against the side. I peeked out and saw Fable guarding the stairs. I went back down, wading down the hall to the kitchen. I grabbed a cast iron pan and went back to the top of the steps.

 _Let's see how you like_ this.

I flung the pan out like a frisbee, close to the ground. She saw it and jumped, but not fast enough to avoid getting smacked in the legs. She yelped and fell, and as she did, I darted out and up the ship. It was steep enough by then that it took real effort just to make any progress, and she was far too slow as she limped after me.

I ran around the buildings in the middle of the boat and down the other side. Fable had by then given up and gone back to guarding the stairs. I found one of the lifeboats and started hauling it in. I didn't know how to lower it, but that didn't matter. The bottom half of the ship was already in the water. I just slid the boat down and shoved it off.

The lights were still shining as I started to paddle. They made a ghostly glow all around the ship, which pointed sharply into the air. If anyone else was going to get off, they had to do it soon. All I could see in the water around me was some upturned lifeboats drifting, one occupied lifeboat in the far distance, and the dying ship.

* * *

Hades Rodriguez- District Seven male

When I heard someone coming down the hall, I ran and hid in a broom closet. Fable was waiting outside, so it was probably one of the people hiding in the lower decks. They probably wouldn't attack, but I didn't want to risk it. Whoever it was ran back down the hall after reaching the stairs. He must have seen Fable. As I peeked out the crack in the door, I saw it was Totem. He seemed like a nice guy, but no one was nice in the Arena.

Totem was carrying a frying pan, which seemed weird. Then I heard a thunk, a yelp, and thumping footsteps. I didn't hear a cannon, so he must have gotten away. I heard Fable come to the stairs, and then her footsteps receded. I crept to the bottom of the stairs, the water spilling over my shoes, and waited. After a few more minutes, Fable called it. Her footsteps traveled down the ship and something, probably her lifeboat, dragged behind her. I waited another five minutes to make sure she got in and shoved off, and then I nervously climbed the stairs.

Fable was gone. Only four of us were left. I could see one boat with someone in it far away. Fable was paddling around the ship out of sight, which meant Totem was probably ahead of her. That left just me on the ship, which was so tilted I could barely stand. I crawled to the railing and slid down the boat, grabbing the railing at the bottom so I wouldn't slide into the water.

With only four of us left, there were plenty of lifeboats. Some of them were already drifting away. Even if I got into one, I wouldn't last long. When the ship went under, there would be no hiding the lonely lifeboats. Fable would see me and come right over.

 _I can't stay. But I can't go._ I looked at one of the overturned boats and got a desperate idea. I crawled to an upside-down lifeboat lying on the edge of the water. As I crawled, something scuttled across my legs.

 _What was that?!_ I looked down and saw a rat scurrying at the edge of the water. _What are you doing here, little guy?_ I wondered. _You're not supposed to be on a fancy ship like this._ He must not have heard that rats weren't allowed on cruise ships. Looked like even the fanciest ship had a few stowaways.

"Well, come in if you want," I said as I ducked under the overturned boat. He must have been a sea rat, since he sure seemed to know a lifeboat when he saw one. He darted in with me and sat on the crossboards. There was a life jacket inside the boat. I laid it across the boards so I could stretch out without getting wet. The rat crawled onto my back as I pushed us off the deck and into the water.

 _Just an overturned lifeboat drifting around. Nothing to see here..._

* * *

 **Oops, Hades miscounted! There are five left. Alistair is currently in a lifeboat, since he got off at the same time as Patrick. He's just out of Hades' sight around the ship. No deaths this time, but it's almost the finale!**


	49. 28 Degrees

**TATSUYA HIKARU-** Fable Anders

 _Only five left now. He seemed like a cool dude. Too bad he was in the Arena._

* * *

 **LILEI SPARKS-** Totem Sweeney

It was really impressive my little partner made it this far. She must have drowned too, just like my allies. There was a tiny body out in the water somwhere...

* * *

 **PHILIP KOZLOV-** Patrick Donegal

I saw them swimming toward my boat. It would have been so easy to paddle in and pick them out of the water. It was what Shane would have done. But for Shane, I didn't.

* * *

 **LYANN LEVETT**

 **THAY STRIMLING-** Totem Sweeney

I failed them. I didn't run fast enough, or I didn't run far enough. They were down there because of me. If I won, it would be because I failed.

* * *

Patrick Donegal- District Four male

There were five of us left. I was so close to winning this. I didn't care about victory anymore. I didn't think any winners cared about it at the moment they won. I just wanted to sit in my boat and wait until the others drowned and froze. Victory was epic for Shane. For me, it would just be a whisper.

Only Fable was still a threat. She was in her raft on the far side of the ship, hunting the last few stragglers. She'd take care of them and then we'd fight. One of us would go home, and the other would die.

The night was quiet as she ship tilted into the sky. It stood almost straight, like a monolith, blocking the stars behind it. The lights flickered off, and then the ship was only a shadow. One of the towers had broken from the strain of gravity. It toppled and slid into the water.

In Four, they say the Academy turns you into a man. I never felt like a man while I was training. I was always Shane's little brother. People never looked at me and said "There's the next Victor". They said "There's Shane Donegal's little brother". Shane was the man. I was a boy. But I didn't feel like a kid now. Shane became a man when he won. We all saw it. He became a man when he achieved his goal. I became a man in a cold, frozen lifeboat, watching a sinking ship and realizing it never should have been my goal at all.

* * *

Alistair Bruce- District Nine

Fable was coming for me. She'd spotted my boat and was paddling after me. I was paddling away at the same time, but she was stronger than me. I was a strong boy, but she was an elite athlete. She was going to catch me eventually.

I was fumbling around in the boat looking for something to defend myself with when she reached me. I smacked her with my oar and she grabbed on, yanking me closer. I let go and pushed her boat away as she tried to board mine. Her legs splashed into the water as she slid on her stomach into my lifeboat. I kicked at her face, scooting backwards as she dodged. She reared back to swing her sword. Her blow would have taken off my head if I hadn't made one last desperate move.

I grabbed the edges of the boat and lurched violently to one side. Fable gasped and almost dropped her sword as the boat started to flip over. She threw herself sideways back into her boat, belly-flopping across it and soaking her entire front. I didn't see her climb into the boat, since my own flipping boat blocked my view. I grabbed onto the cross boards and huddled under the shell.

 _Let's see you get me_ now! I knew, though, that it was just delaying the inevitable. Fable didn't even bother to thump at the top of my boat, but then, she didn't have to. I bought myself a few seconds, but the result would be the same. I'd been hoping Fable would get caught with me and wouldn't be able to hold her sword in the water. Then we would have sparred it out under the boat, with her almost certainly winning, but at least I'd have a chance. She got away, but she _did_ get soaked. There was a very real chance she'd freeze to death... just like me.

It didn't take long for the cold to set in. I wondered if Fable was watching, waiting for the cannon. There was no need to, and she probably wanted to get rid of the others quickly before she froze. I shivered as I held the board, and my breath misted the air. I could try to climb on top of the boat, but Fable might be waiting just in case. It wouldn't have saved me anyway. I was soaked through, and my fingers were already stiffening. There was no way out this time. My breathing slowed, and then my heart slowed. I wondered if the water was as deep as the ocean. They'd have a hard time fishing me out. I took wicked pleasure in that.

* * *

 **Midnight is past, so I did the cannons.**

 **Alistair Bruce- Hypothermia**

 **He made it a long way, didn't he? Alistair kept himself out of trouble and generally in a good position right up until the end. Once Fable was on his tail in the ocean there was no way to go, but he made a fight of it. She is very much cursing him right now, since she is VERY cold. She better pull this out quick if she wants it. But anyways, Alistair didn't have any one box to easily plug into. I had to write him mor carefully so he got his own voice. That's good, since it means he's more realistic. Thanks Sparky, and it kind of amused me that your review came just before he died. Sorry about that.**


	50. SOS

Nassor Doyle, District Nine mentor

I had no idea what to expect of either of my Tributes. Lyann had been so levelheaded, while Alistair was so well-rounded. Either of them could have taken it home. All they really lacked was luck, and that was the most important thing.

* * *

District Nine

What more is there to say? We lost two more people. Every year but one, that's what happened. We'd been through every type of mourning and lost every kind of child imaginable. This time it was Lyann and Alistair. Neither of them deserved it, and it was never going to get any better.

* * *

Fable Anders- District One female

Totem, Patrick and Hades were all right for a while. I couldn't go after any of them now. I was busy enough trying to stay alive. I was shaking like a leaf, and it felt like my clothes were freezing to my body. If I didn't do something fast, I would freeze to death.

I searched the boat, looking for any emergency supplies or anything at all helpful. Wouldn't you know it, my lifeboat had a box of lifesaving supplies under the front seat. I tore it open and peered inside. There was a bag in one corner, but I didn't care about that. What I cared about was the book of matches. That, and the book of Morse code and other maritime stuff.

 _Knowledge is power,_ I thought as I set the book on fire. _Sorry._ The pages slowly started to burn, and I held my frozen fingers over the heat. I kept the book in the metal box so I wouldn't start my boat on fire, even though the wood looked too thick to burn quickly. I used my sword to hook in a wooden deck chair floating nearby and smashed off some pieces with my sword, adding them to the tiny fire.

Slowly, I started to warm up. I huddled as close to the fire as I dared, drying out my wet clothes and warming my skin. The air was still bitterly cold, but it got to where I could move my fingers again. If I wanted to, I could stay like that all day. The boat was slowly sinking into the water, only halfway visible. There was plenty of flotsam for me to burn, but I had things to do. I couldn't sit by my fire forever.

I'd almost lost it all, just like that. A few more minutes, and it might have been too late. I could have slipped away and fallen asleep forever. Patrick could have paddled in whenever he felt like it and mopped up Hades and Totem. It could have all changed just like that. But my story wasn't over yet.

 _Wonder what else is in here._ Before I got back to work, I idly rifled through the supply box. I opened up the bag and a smile spread across my face.

* * *

Totem Sweeney- District Five

Fable had already gotten Alistair. I heard the cannon. It couldn't have been Patrick. He was too far away. It was me and two Careers, one of whom was already coming for me.

I didn't know which direction Fable would come from, so I couldn't run away. When she appeared around the far end of the boat, I made a run for it- a paddle for it, anyway. I could paddle faster, but her boat was much lighter. She was in an inflatable raft, and she was gaining fast. I bumped up against the boat as I paddled and shoved off it to go even faster.

 _Maybe I don't need to run._ I was still going to, because I wasn't getting in a fight with Fable if I could help it, but maybe I didn't have to be so scared. An inflatable raft was easy to puncture or knock over. If she fell into the water, she'd drop her sword _and_ probably freeze to death.

Fable was almost on me. I looked over at the ship, desperately hoping I could somehow climb up. There was nothing but smooth metal, and even if I'd been able to, the ship was almost entirely underwater. It would just drag me down when it went. There was nothing to do but fight.

As Fable's boat came up alongside mine, I shot out an arm and shoved it away. I expected her to slash at me, but instead she dropped her oars and raised a hand. Her sword wasn't in it, though.

There was a flash of light, and then I was on fire. I saw the flare gun in Fable's hand as the flare hit my face and dropped onto my shirt. It hurt like I'd never imagined, and the heat contrasted with the frozen air all around me. I screamed as I beat at the front of my shirt, trying to put out the flames. Only then did Fable pick up her sword. In my last moments, I was grateful to her that I wouldn't burn to death. And hey, I may never have penetrated a girl, but one sure penetrated me.

* * *

 **4th place: Totem Sweeney- Stabbed by Fable**

 **Heeeeey you cracked the top 5! I didn't come into this planning either way, but Totem was strong, so it made sense. Totem was a man of many contradictions. He rarely mentioned it, but he had a genius IQ. However, he was also something of a frat boy. However, he was also a dedicated athlete and a talented musician. He was a real renaissance man. About the only thing he wasn't was a Victor. I forgot to write down Totem's submitter, but thanks for someone who was both comic relief AND capable!**


	51. Carpathia

**Darn it, I goofed. I got a cool idea for a flare gun and forgot that Fable was in an inflatable raft! I feel like I should address this one since Totem died. On the "bright" side, the flare gun didn't affect the order. I would have had Fable kill Totem in a more normal way had I not thought of the flare gun, so it didn't affect his placing. That's still a significant error though, so sorry about that. Maybe she found it drifting in the water? It's pretty much too late to fix now, so I'll just own up to it and tell everyone that at least it wasn't what got Totem killed, ultimately.**

 **Anyway, the finale! It would have been weird to split up, so I did a long chapter instead.**

* * *

Hades Rodriguez- District Seven

Never in my life had I been so cold. I'd heard stories about the Twenty-Third Games, where the entire Arena was frozen. They say half the Tributes died on the first day and the Capitol was so disappointed they'd never done an Arena like it again. They say the Victor was driven insane by it and never recovered. I could see why.

The rat crept down my side and nosed at my life jacket. I was the only warm thing on the boat, and he wanted in..

"Come on in. Plenty of room," I said. I stuck a finger between my jacket and my shirt and pulled open a spot for him. He crept in and turned around so only his nose poked out. I hoped he didn't bite me and give me the plague, but he seemed like a nice rat.

"I'm going to call you Bacchus. He always seemed like the nicest god," I said, after some thought. Bacchus liked wine and parties and _not being cold,_ which I could get behind.

"Just a little bit longer now," I whispered to Bacchus, and my teeth chattered so much even I could barely understand myself. It wouldn't be long before Fable and Patrick, who were certainly the other two, fought. One of them would die and the other would come for me. "It's been fun, Bacchus." I hoped he got out when they picked up my body.

I stuck a hand inside my jacket and brushed it against Bacchus. He nosed at it, but didn't bite. It was warm, so he could deal with it. I ran a stiff finger down his furry back. "I had lots of pets like you back home," I said. "Mom didn't always like that. One time a raccoon got loose in the kitchen..."

Patrick Donegal- District Four male

Fable was coming for me. I could see her boat in the distance as she paddled my way. I could have outdistanced her and kept away, but it was useless. One or the other of us had to die. Putting it off would only get the Gamemakers mad at us.

I had a plan, though. I let Fable come toward me, hoping she'd tire herself out but knowing it wouldn't be that easy. When she was maybe ten feet away, I opened fire.

I saw Fable's eyes widen and her lips mouth a profanity as the flare shot from my gun. I thought I'd seen a light across the nearly sunken ship. Now the shoe was on the other foot. Fable dove almost as soon as I raised my hand. If I'd been aiming at her, I would have missed.

My flare smacked into the inner side of her raft, thumping to the floor. She grabbed it barehanded, wincing as she tossed it overboard. But it was too late. A gaping hole marked her inflatable raft, melting at the edges. The air started to rush out and her boat sagged in the water. She looked in horror at the folding rubber, then at me. I saw the calculations go through her head, and none of them came up positive. I wasn't expecting what came next, though. Fable stood up in the boat, shucked her life jacket, and dove into the water.

* * *

Fable Anders- District One

That was _not_ the plan. I should have guessed I wouldn't be the only one to find the flares. Like Alistair, I now only had one last desperate path. I dove into the water. I had one shot at this. I had maybe a minute before the cold slowed me to where all I could do was float and die. Even if I got to Patrick's boat, my sword was rapidly sinking to the bottom of the ocean. It was a fool's errand, and I hated that I had to do it.

 _What an ending,_ I thought as the salty water stung my eyes and the cold gripped me like a vise. _What a way to earn a happy ending._ This was a story I could tell again and again. I'd tell about the girl who swam through the ice and how she looked down to see water that never ended- water that faded to black. The boy in the boat thought the girl would come up, but instead she swam underneath. She burst from the water on the other side, latching onto the boat and pulling for all she was worth. The girl's plan worked, and the boat flipped over with the boy still in it.

* * *

Patrick Donegal- District Four

Fable was full of tricks. As I waited with my sword in the air for her to pop up, my boat lurched under me and capsized. I was dumped into the water, and there was no holding on to my heavy sword. I had to drop it to tread water. We were both soaking wet now, and neither of us had a weapon.

Fable wasted no time attacking me. She wrapped her legs around my waist and grabbed me around the head, her arms over my eyes. She bit me on the side of the throat and shook her head like a dog, trying to tear me open. I could only tell I was bleeding because some of the wetness on my neck was warm. I grabbed her hair with both arms, peeling her off me. As soon as I grabbed her, we both sank under the water.

Everyone in Four knew how to rescue a drowning person. No one in Four should be drowning, but all the same, we learned. A panicking drowner will almost always try to push up out of the water onto his rescuer, pushing the rescuer underwater and drowning them both. The way out of it is to swim down. The drowner wants to go up, not down, and will let go. The same applies to someone who's not familiar with water, like a girl from One. Fable's instinct would be to let go and swim up, and that's just what she did. I grabbed her foot and yanked, stalling her. She kicked free and surfaced under the boat. I was a much faster swimmer, and I was only an instant behind her.

Under the boat, the fight resumed. We were both holding ourselves steady with the cross board as we pummeled each other. That only left one hand free, and we were both neck-deep in water under a small boat, which further limited our mobility. It was almost comical, and it must have been a sight to see in the Capitol.

Fable reached forward and dug her fingers into my neck wound, twisting at working at it. Her hand was cold as ice, and my neck wasn't any better. As soon as the adrenaline started to flag, we would both fade fast. I didn't even know how I would get warm again if I won, but I couldn't think about that.

I drew myself back so I was flat in the water with my stomach under the cross board. I raised one leg above the water and donkey-kicked Fable straight in the face. Her head smacked back against the lifeboat. I wrapped both my legs around her neck and pushed down on the cross board, straightening myself into a standing position and pushing Fable down under the water.

* * *

Fable Anders- District One female

This couldn't be how the story ended. Patrick's legs were wrapped around my neck and his full weight bore me down in the water. I thrashed around for anything to grab onto and pull myself up, but there was nothing but bitingly cold water. It was so dark I could barely see the surface. I could barely see anything. All around me, and infinitely below me, there was only blackness.

Movement would only use up my air faster, but there was nothing to do. I tore at Patrick's legs, but biology was on his side. Legs were so much stronger than arms. Time was on his side, too. In less than four minutes, I'd be dead. He only had to wait.

My lungs started to burn, and the terrible finality of my situation settled all around me. There was no way out of this one. I had two minutes to think of something, and then it would be too late. But there was nothing to think of. There was nothing but water.

I felt lighter and lighter, until I was weightless. The water didn't seem so cold anymore. I was coming to the end of the story. I only wished I could have told it more. But maybe it wasn't the end. The story didn't have to end. It didn't ever have to end. I thought of something I'd heard long ago, in a story so old I didn't even know when it was written.

 _To die will be an awfully big adventure._

* * *

Patrick Donegal- District Four

Fable should have known better than to fight a Four boy in the water. And I should have known better than to let her get so close.

I didn't know if I would have the strength to haul myself on top of my upturned boat. It took me half a dozen tries, any of which could have been my last. I finally slid onto the wood and lay on my stomach, to weak to even turn over. The wood was wet underneath me, and my cheek burned as it lay against the boat.

I'd beaten Fable, but that was my last fight. I hoped Shane was proud of me, even after all I did. I did it for myself, but everyone wants their brothers to be proud of them. All the jokes we play, all the ribbing we hurl, all those play-fights... they're all because we care about each other. I'd proven myself in battle and slain a great foe. I would have been the hero in one of Shane's stories. I'd have given it all away to see him again.

 _I want to be your little brother,_ I thought as I lay shivering on the boat. Warmth oozed across my neck, staining the ship red as it mingled with the seawater and trickled into the sea. I was thankful I'd beaten Fable just so Shane didn't have to see me die like that. This was the way for a Four boy to go: stretched out on a boat, on water as smooth as glass. Under a night sky, under the stars we used to steer by. I trailed a hand in the water and felt the blood flow from my neck, until it flowed as cold as the ocean.

* * *

Hades Rodriguez- District Seven

Tears welled in my eyes, and some of them ran hot down my face. I was so cold it hurt. How could anything be this cold in the world? I'd forgotten what it was like to be warm. It seemed like I'd imagined it. It could never be so warm I could go outside without a jacket and feel warm in just the air. It was impossible.

My stiff fingers were curled around Bacchus. He was lucky- he had fur. Rats were about the hardiest animals on Earth. He'd be fine, even if this took all day. I was the one who would die.

The water lapped against my legs whenever I sagged. My muscles burned from holding myself up, even with the support of the board and jacket. I might have hoped my body heat would eventually warm the tiny pocket of air, but the water leeched the warmth right out of me.

"You'll be on your own soon," I whispered to Bacchus.

A cannon sounded. Fable or Patrick was dead, and the other was coming for me. I wondered how long it would take. Then, only a few minutes later, another cannon sounded.

The sound took a moment to register. _Just me now,_ I thought. _I'll die and then the Games will be done._ Something about that sounded odd. I went over it sluggishly in my head. _Oh, that's right. The last person doesn't die._ I'd be out here forever then.

Out of nowhere, my boat flipped over. I was expecting to get dumped into the water, but something cold- yet still warmer than the Arena- clamped around my waist and plucked me into the air. Unbearably bright light blinded me, and I could feel even more cold as air blasted my face. I reflexively clenched onto Bacchus, but he slipped between my frozen fingers and down into my shirt.

 _Oh, that's right,_ I thought. _The last person is the Victor. Everyone else is dead, so that makes me the Victor. I_ don't _die. I'm the Victor..._

* * *

 **3rd place: Fable Anders- Drowned by Patrick**

 **It took guts to jump into freezing-cold water, and it almost turned out right for Fable. She probably still would have frozen to death should she have killed Patrick, but that girl sure didn't give up. I knew Fable would be easy to write from the start when I saw her cool story thing. In hindsight I should have used that more, but I'm happy with what I did get. Fable was one of the cooler and more unique Tributes I've ever gotten, and I've gotten a lot. Thanks, Mysticalpineforest. You outdid yourself. (Which I realize sounds really weird since I killed her, so I'm adding this to say this does not mean you'll never get a Victor)**

 **2nd place: Patrick Donegal- Bled out/exposure**

 **I hope Jayman wasn't too suprised, since I mentioned Patrick wasn't currently my Victor pick when he asked. His Tributes often have a similar slant, but Patrick broke out. He could have been a boring Shane copy, but he was his own person while also being influenced by his brother. He was perhaps cleverer than Shane and perhaps a less capable fighter, not to say he was weak. Obviously not, since he got second place. Thanks again, Jayman. Patrick did Four proud, even if all he wanted in the end was to get home. I at least gave him an easy death, surrounded by his second greatest love.**

 **Victor: Hades Rodriguez- District Seven male**

 **I've wanted a Seven Victor for a long time. That was partially why my initial pick was Jasmine. However, I've also wanted a _young_ Victor for a long time. I've been waiting for the stars to align, and they finally did. Hades was from Seven. This was an indoor Arena, where a young Tribute could hide. I've been waiting to use the dumbwaiter for a long time. The cold water and sinking ship could clear out a lot of stronger Tributes and Careers. All those stars aligned, and I got a young Victor AND a Seven Victor. I'm super happy it was Hades, because I wanted him to win right away. I saw in his form that if he won, he'd have a nature show. I thought that was the coolest idea, and I'm super excited I'll get to do it. That's why I added the rat, which was perhaps overly sentimental. Hades is exuberant, smart, enthusiastic, and so many other things that will make him a dynamic Victor. I loved the interest in Greek legends and his love of animals as well. Once I saw I could make this work, I set to work making it an earned Victory. Hades got himself through the Games by using his environment and being crafty. He survived the Career sweeps by using the dumbwaiter. He survived the gas by using the refrigerator. He survived the sinking with an overturned boat. He kept himself concealed and stayed out of trouble like the prey animal he was. I've been hesitant to have someone win by hiding since I thought people would be underwhelmed, but I've wanted to for a long time, since I thought it made sense and would be different. That was one more piece of the puzzle that Hades filled. It was a truly cosmic syzygy that brought us Hades as a Victor, and I'm glad for it. Congratulations to CarlpoppaLOL, who has sent in many deserving Tributes. One of them finally got what he deserved.**

 **As usual, I'll have a few cleanup chapters and we'll be done! Remember, next Games is a Resurrection Games, so you don't need to reserve, but you can reserve for the Games after that if you're _really_ eager.**

 **PS "Carpathia" seems like a random name. A lot of you might get it, since the Titanic is a pretty well-known story, but for those who didn't, it's the name of the ship that rescued the Titanic survivors.**

 **PPS Fun fact, my great-grandfather was on a German boat that warned the Titanic that there were icebergs in the area. The Titanic messaged them back to tell them to shut up and called them Krauts.**


	52. Coronation

**Hades was not really in the water. He was laying across a lifejacket laid over the crossboards like a stretcher. He was cold because it was just really cold in the night and sometimes when he shifted he got damp.**

* * *

Hades Rodriguez- Victor

The air was warm. The _air_ was _warm._ I felt at the air with one hand, my fingers passing through the void. It was warm. I could feel heat in the air. It blew my mind. I wasn't imagining things. It _was_ possible to not be cold. I was actually cozy and warm in my bed. I didn't see any reason to get up, either.

 _I actually won._ I never thought it was possible. I never dreamed someone like me could actually win. That was the ending to one of Fable's stories, not real life. No one had ever heard of something like this. I still couldn't believe it myself.

Some hours later, the door opened. I expected more doctors like the ones that had been fussing over me throughout the day, but it was Paul.

"How's Panem's youngest Victor?" he asked, sitting on the edge of my bed.

"I feel good," I said. I was still mixed up, and it felt like I should have said something grander. "I don't think I really got hurt."

"Just frozen," Paul said. "You had about the fastest recovery of any Victor. They got your temperature up overnight and you're good to go." He paused. He obviously wanted me to talk about how I felt, but I didn't know how I felt. It was all like a dream come true, and I was afraid if I said anything I'd wake up.

Paul's cargo pants shifted suddenly, catching my eye. Paul laughed as he reached into his pocket.

"Oh, I thought you might want this," he said. He drew Bacchus out of his pocket and laid him on the bed. He burrowed underneath the blankets by my chest.

"It wasn't easy getting them to let me keep him," Paul said as Bacchus tickled my side. "I spent the entire night giving a _rat_ a bath."

"He smells like soap," I giggled. That explained why his fur was so fluffy.

"Good job, kid," Paul said. "I've never seen anything like that. Seven's first Victor in forty years, and he's thirteen."

I smiled, mostly in embarrassment. As soon as I peeked out the door, everyone was going to be looking at me. I'd never had that much attention, and it made me self-conscious.

"Are you ready for this?" Paul asked when we were about to get ready for the crowning.

"Guess I should be ready for anything now," I said.

* * *

I got off light when it came to the coronation. The stylists went with the nautical theme from the Arena and dressed me in a captain's uniform, squealing and cooing all the way over how adorable it was. It just felt tight and constricting to me, but it was better than some of the crazy outfits I'd seen.

"Here's the little record-setter!" Caesar proclaimed as I stepped onto the stage. My skin prickled as I slid into my seat, sitting on my hands.

"What a showing! You made history, young man. What's it like being Panem's youngest-ever Victor?" Caesar asked.

"I don't know," I said. "I guess I'm still getting used to it."

"I guess we all are!" Caesar said. "You made it look easy in there. What was the hardest part of the Games?"

"The lifeboat was the hardest. It was really cold in there," I said.

"Are you looking forward to going back to Seven where it's warm?" Caesar asked.

"You bet," I said.

"Let's see a replay," Caesar said. I'd been holed up for almost the entire time, so I'd barely seen anything from the Games. The "replay" was all new to me. The worst part was seeing all the people who didn't have somewhere to hide from the gas. I never wanted to see something like that ever again.

I reflexively jerked when the Anthem started to play. In the Arena, that came before seeing the dead Tributes. Here it meant President Snow, which was maybe worse. He always seemed like a scary old man to be, and it was worse up close. I was glad I was so young. Maybe then he wouldn't think I was dangerous.

My crown was a simple band of red metal with a big diamond star in the middle. Snow laid it on my head, said something vague and congratulatory, and then it was done. All that was left was to go home.

 _Wow. I really won._

* * *

 **Up next: like two more chapters and then we're done! BTW the crown is the logo of the White Star Line, which made the Titanic.**


	53. WARBUCKS INTERRUPTS

**Hey everyone I forgot something important!**

 **As I write this upcoming Resurrection Games, I'll also be starting a project I've been planning with my little sister SilverflowerXRavenpaw and I think Birkarandareader (I have a lot of projects so I mix up names). Silver was so happy about the Survivor Games she wanted to do one and Birk really likes Survivor, so we're DOING A CROSSOVER! I put it on my account since it's the most visible, and submissions are open! HOWEVER, if you could do me a solid... could you send them to SilverflowerRavenpaw's account? I want HER to have to deal with the exploded inbox. If you want to do HER a solid, mark them as Survivor submissions so she knows they're not for her single SYOTs.**

 **I'm not currently sure whose universe this story will be in but Silver at least is down for randomly transplanting Titian there because he fits so well.**

* * *

 **Titian Qin**

 _Man, the Survivor Games was fun. Especially the part where Rahina got electrocuted. I think I might have peaked. But you know what they say about aging with grace. They say it SUCKS! I'm doing it again._


	54. Inititation

Hades Rodriguez, Victor

"Guess what time it is, pal?" Paul asked after the coronation was done.

"Time to go home?" I asked.

"No. Pretty soon, but first, we have to have an initiation," Paul said.

"Like, you all throw water balloons at me or something?" I asked.

"Whatever you want. You get to pick. But if you pick the water balloon thing I'm going to be a little weirded out," Paul said. He checked his watch. "The others should be coming soon."

"All of them?" I asked, expecting almost fifty Victors to burst through the door. And that's more or less what happened.

"Is this where the party's at?" Hyden asked as a stream of people started pouring into my room. I heard more coming down the hall.

"Do you all travel together?" I asked.

"Yes. Every time we are not training, we are legion," Lancia said.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" Careen asked.

"Is everyone here?" I asked.

"Paul looked over the mass of people crammed into my room. "Everyone who's coming," he said. I didn't recognize all of the Victors. I wouldn't have noticed if a lot of them didn't show up. The only one I noticed who wasn't there was Shane, which I totally understood.

"Now it's time for us to do something fun and welcome you to the team," Paul said.

"What kind of things do you usually do?" I asked.

"For Careen we went skinny-dipping," Azure said.

"We did _not!"_ Careen said, and she punched him in the arm.

"Can we just have a big party?" I asked. "With lots of candy? And we can watch a movie on the big projector?"

"That sounds easy," Pray said.

We could have just ordered snacks from the room service system, but it was way more fun to go out to a store and load up a cart with all the junk food we wanted. We piled back into the lounge in a cloud of snack bags and candy wrappers, jostling for spots on the couches.

"Does anyone know how to run this?" Paul asked, fiddling with the projector wall. A third of of looked at Acee, a third of us looked at Beetee, and a third of us looked at Wiress.

"Stereotypes," Acee grumbled as she ran to join Beetee and Wiress, who were already hooking things together.

"Let's watch something with animals," I said. I didn't want to see anything bad happen to people for a long time. "Something happy."

"I like happy movies," Bambi said.

We picked a documentary about tropical animals. That way we could watch the pictures and mostly ignore the narration while we talked.

"That was pretty cool, winning the Games at your age," Blake said.

"I didn't think it would actually happen," I admitted. I munched on candy while Bacchus nibbled a chunk of peach. Labyrinth wouldn't leave Bambi's side, but he did let me pet him.

"Now the whole world is your oyster," Nassor said. He didn't seem convinced, but he had a harder time of it than I did. I was one of the lucky ones. I didn't have to kill anyone. Weirdly enough, that didn't seem to help the others. The only other Victors I could think of who didn't kill anyone were Toby, his partner, and Cornflower, and none of them were really normal.

"Do you feel like a Victor yet?" Sky asked.

"I'm not sure, but I do feel like I really get to go home," I said. _The world is my oyster._ That could really be true for me. I was going to have some effects, but mostly, I was the same person as ever. I could go back home and live a normal life. I was just rich and famous now.


	55. Epilogue

Hades Rodriguez, Victor

My Victory tour was probably the best one ever. No one was mad at me, since I didn't kill anyone. Everyone else was said their Tributes didn't win, but if they couldn't, they were happy it was a normal little kid from Seven. I hadn't made any enemies.

"I'd like to thank Fable and Calvin for not coming after me at the Bloodbath, because if they had, I definitely would have died," I said. Of all the feasts, One was the best. The normal people there were about as rich as I was. They had _everything._

"Daren didn't come for me in the Bloodbath, which was very nice. I didn't see Jessie after the first day, which was a good thing for me," I said. Two had plainer food, but it was still really good.

"Tatsuya and Jayla both seemed really smart. I'm sorry they didn't get to come home," I said. Three was really into "molecular gastronomy", but the foams, fruit beads, and edible sand were really cool.

"Patrick told us he wasn't going to kill any little kids, and he didn't. Most people wouldn't keep that promise. I heard Amphilia only joined because the chosen girl was mean. I guess that's not nice for me to say, but I'm glad it wasn't her," I said. I didn't care for the fish. It was slimy.

"Lilei was a really good artist. I wish I'd kept her poster. Totem was really funny, and also really strong," I said. All the food in Five tasted like it had been shipped a long way, which made sense.

"Rory died early, so I didn't get to see what he was like," I fibbed. "Sofia was really nice. I'm sorry this year didn't work out for you." The food in Six tasted like the food in Five.

"I think everyone knows how strong Zibby was. I'm surprised she didn't wreck the whole Arena. Alistair was nice to me even though he was way older," I said. Eight's feast didn't taste fresh either, but the tablecloths were really pretty.

"Lyann was like everyone's mom. She acted way older than the rest of us. Jacob was more laid-back, and he was really funny," I said. Nine had a lot of bread, but I liked bread.

"Philip was always really busy. I hardly ever got to see him. I was kind of scared of Mel, so I tried not to see her either. She wasn't mean- she just seemed really strong," I said. I'd never had steak before, at least not hot. Sometimes I snitched scraps off Peacekeepers' discarded plates, but this stuff was warm and made just for me.

"Thay was really nice even though he was rich. Soya was always super polite," I said. Eleven had all sorts of weird fruits. I'd never had a kiwi before.

"Appaloosa said she'd protect the little kids and she did all the way until she died. We all liked her," I said. Dayley was always really positive, even when I was scared." I was glad to visit Twelve. I didn't care what food it was, as long as they got to eat too.

Getting home was surreal. People were lined up around the train screaming and waving flags. I could barely get out- Paul had to part the crowd like a football player. One lady got past him, though.

I'd never seen my mom cry like that. I'd never seen her that emotional at all. She plowed into me and picked me up like I was still a baby. It would have been embarrassing, but then I started crying too and no one could tell because I was squished into her.

* * *

 _One year later_

"What time is it?" the announcer asked.

"Time for _Hades and Bacchus!"_ a canned audience replied.

"With your host, Hades Rodriguez!"

After the wacky intro clips finished, the camera cut to me standing in a rocky field. I was dressed in wilderness khakis and Bacchus was perched on my shoulder, wearing a tiny explorer hat.

"Good day, everyone! Today I'm in the deserts of Two. It's _really_ hot here. Look at that sun!" I pointed at the sky. "Anyway, today I'm hoping to show you a roadrunner..."

I was one of a few Victors who knew exactly what they wanted to do for their talents. The Capitol thought a nature show was a great idea, and I was on the air in weeks. Every show I went somewhere new and pointed out new animals, though sometimes we cheated and filmed a lot of episodes at once in one location. Sometimes I talked about legendary animals and how they were based on real ones. It wasn't a _big_ hit, but it had viewers. Mostly kids, which was the way I liked it.

In general, life was good. I could buy my mom a bunch of stuff she deserved and I didn't have to worry about having a job or going into the Games anymore. For a while I felt out of place in the Capitol, but then one day I was playing marbles and Cornflower plopped down like she was meant to be there. Turned out she was just a kid with a grownup's body.

People always said no one ever really won the Games. I could see what they were saying, but I seemed to have cheated the odds in more ways than one. Except for not liking the cold- another thing I shared with Cornflower- I was pretty okay. If Fable was still around, she would have liked the ending to this story.

* * *

 **And another story ends. I already have the next one up, and it's Resurrection so don't worry about reserving. But it's good to have Hades, and it will be really funny next year when he's mentoring ten people, some of which are older than he is. I'm sure he'll stay happy. Sometimes even the Hunger Games can't keep someone down.**


	56. Derp

**Forgot the One, Four and Five eulogies!**

 **Blake Armani**

There was little in the world more frustrating than your Tribute getting third place. I tried to maintain some distance from my Tributes until they came back, but once you were in the final five, you had to start hoping. It had already been a huge surprise to me when Calvin got taken out by Zibby's chicanery. Then I had to lose my girl in third place. This was not one of my better years.

 **District One**

The Career Districts had always had a strained relationship. There was respect between volunteers, but it only went so far. One and Two both secretly looked down on Four since they sometimes had Reaped Tributes, and it was humilating that Patrick killed Fable. We were less mad at her for dying than we were mad at her for getting killed by a Four. And then there was Calvin, getting killed in the first half. What a bust.

 **Shane Donegal**

I should have known he would volunteer. How did I let it get this far? I hardly ever mentioned my Games unless Patrick begged for it. I didn't think it was _this_ bad. I thought it was bad going through the Arena and seeing Rain die. This was a hundred times worse. Twice, the Games changed my life.

 **District Four**

Second place was worse than dying in the Bloodbath. It meant all our preparation was for nothing. THe volunteers trained so no one would have to get Reaped. The ultimate goal was that someone didn't have to die, and that was so rarely the case. Amphilia made sure Wrasse never made it in, which was all she'd really hoped for. Patrick didn't get home to Shane, but maybe some other little brother out there learned the lesson he learned too late.

 **Erwin Jackson**

Totem may have been a showboat, but I'd hoped I wouldn't have to see him die. He had what it takes, but this time it didn't work out. Lilei was a lost cause from the start, and Sky and I were just glad it was over. She lasted so long for such a little girl. Like another little girl, one with a glass bird... It was over for them. For us, it lasted forever.

 **District Five**

It was quieter without Totem. _We_ were quieter without Lilei. Kayla was determined to make her friend's sacrifice worth it, and we all knew she would. Lilei's grave was covered in drawings, from little kid scribbles to artists' memorials. Totem's grave was less visited, but only relatively. They were both missed, just in different ways.


End file.
